 "History Today: How Hamas' October 7 attack plunged West Asia into unprecedented turmoil")
The Israel-Hamas war, still underway in West Asia, began on October 7, 2023. Hamas launched a large-scale, coordinated assault from the Gaza Strip involving rockets, ground incursions, and infiltrations.
On this day in 2001, the United States launched Operation Enduring Freedom, a massive military campaign against Afghanistan following the September 11 terror attacks. In 1959, the world witnessed a breakthrough in space exploration when the Soviet Union’s Luna 3 spacecraft transmitted the first-ever photographs of the far side of the Moon.
Here is all that happened on this day.
The Israel-Hamas war broke out
Hamas launched coordinated attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. In the wee hours of the morning, more than 2,200 rockets were fired toward Israeli cities within a short span. This overwhelmed the defence systems. Simultaneously, hundreds of Hamas militants breached the heavily fortified border fence at multiple points, using vehicles, motorcycles, and paragliders to infiltrate nearby Israeli military bases and civilian communities.
The militants targeted over 20 towns and villages, including kibbutzim and small cities, where they committed acts of shocking brutality against civilians. The deadliest single incident occurred at the Nova music festival near the Gaza border, where hundreds of young partygoers were massacred. The attack resulted in approximately 1,200 Israelis killed, many of whom were civilians, and over 240 people taken hostage, including children and foreign nationals.
In response to the massacre, Israel’s security establishment was mobilised under the name “Operation Iron Swords.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war on Hamas, initiating a campaign that included immediate and sustained aerial bombardment of Gaza, followed by a large-scale ground invasion. The conflict swiftly expanded beyond military fronts, triggering a deep humanitarian crisis. Over one million displaced Palestinians, widespread infrastructure damage, shortages of medical supplies, and rampant destruction in urban areas marked its early months.
The US-led attack on Afghanistan began
On this day in 2001, the United States launched Operation Enduring Freedom, which was a massive military campaign against Afghanistan. The attack came less than a month after the September 11 terror attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. The US accused al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, of orchestrating the attacks, and held Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban regime responsible for providing sanctuary to the group.
The attack began with an aerial bombardment targeting Taliban military installations, communication networks, and al-Qaeda training camps. Cruise missiles and precision-guided bombs were deployed from land and sea, supported by US and British air forces. This marked the opening phase of what would become America’s longest war.
The Taliban, ill-equipped to withstand advanced Western firepower, quickly lost control of key cities. By mid-November, Kabul had fallen, and the Taliban regime collapsed soon after. However, bin Laden and top al-Qaeda leaders managed to escape, many fleeing into Pakistan’s tribal areas.
The campaign was framed not only as a response to 9/11 but also as part of a broader “War on Terror.” President George W Bush declared the goal was to dismantle al-Qaeda, remove the Taliban from power, and prevent Afghanistan from being used as a terrorist base again.
Moon’s dark side revealed
The Soviet Union’s Luna 3 spacecraft transmitted the first-ever photographs of the far side of the Moon, also known as its dark side. Until then, humans had only seen the side of the Moon that permanently faces Earth due to tidal locking. The far side remained a mystery, fuelling scientific curiosity and popular imagination alike.
Launched just two years after the Soviet Union shocked the world with Sputnik 1, Luna 3 marked another leap in the Space Race. The spacecraft carried an advanced imaging system that used photographic film to capture images of the lunar surface. The pictures were then developed, fixed, and scanned onboard before being transmitted back to Earth via radio signals, a pioneering feat of technology for its time.
The images revealed a lunar landscape vastly different from the familiar face visible from Earth. Unlike the near side, which is dominated by broad, dark plains called maria, the far side appeared rugged, heavily cratered, and mountainous, with fewer smooth plains. This discovery reshaped scientific understanding of the Moon’s geological history and raised questions about why the two sides were so different.
Although the images were blurry and low-resolution by modern standards, they were groundbreaking. The Soviet Union proudly released the photographs, bolstering its image as the leader in space exploration and intensifying its rivalry with the United States, which was racing to catch up.
This Day, That Year
In 1996, Fox News Channel was launched in the United States.
The Granite Railway, the first chartered railroad in the United States, began service in 1826.
In 1765, the Stamp Act Congress convened in New York City to frame resolutions of “rights and grievances” of the American colonies.
With inputs from agencies
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