After two weeks of ‘Operation Iron Swords’ – here are IDF statistics

After two weeks of intense warfare against the terror organization Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces published the first official statistics recapping its operations over the last 14 days.

Two weeks ago, the war now called “Operation Iron Swords” in Israel began in the morning hours of Oct. 7, on the holiday of Simchat Torah and during Shabbat, with a brutal surprise attack by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

The terrorists began by launching a broad rocket attack against Israeli towns, which has not let up since.

In the two weeks since what is now being referred to as “black Shabbat,” Hamas and its affiliated organizations have fired over 6,900 rockets into Israel, the IDF said.

The rockets have targeted cities and towns across the country, from Haifa in the north to the southern city of Beersheva, the center region in and around Tel Aviv and the capital Jerusalem and nearby villages.

On Oct. 18, the IDF published statistics showing an increasing trend in failed rocket launches from Gaza, which reached over 12% on the day one of those failed rocket launches led to an explosion in a Gaza hospital, which Hamas claimed killed over 500 people and for which they blamed an Israeli airstrike.

Shortly after the beginning of this rocket attack near Israel's border with Gaza, which began in the early morning hours of Oct. 7, thousands of Hamas terrorists breached the Israeli security fence – a high-tech miracle that cost billions of dollars to build and was thought impregnable – by air, land and sea, invaded the Israeli communities near the border, and began an unprecedented massacre of Israeli citizens and soldiers.

The majority of the more than 1,400 Israelis and foreign citizens who lost their lives in the war were killed in the horrific massacre in the border area.

Hamas terrorists have also injured more than 4,600, both due to rocket attacks and the brutal assault, hundreds of which are still being treated in hospitals.

The IDF has so far confirmed that at least 210 people were kidnapped and are being held as hostages in the Gaza Strip.

Two of the hostages, dual American-Israeli citizens – Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie – were released by Hamas on Day 13 of the war, as a “humanitarian gesture,” following negotiations.

This is the explanation behind how this particular war between Hamas and Israel began two weeks ago.

The Israeli Defense Forces and the whole country were forced into “Operation Iron Swords" with the declared goal of toppling the Hamas government in Gaza and the destruction of its military abilities.

The war began by repelling the surprise invasion and scouring the border area of terrorists. It was followed by concentrated airstrikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. A ground invasion of Gaza is thought to be imminent.

According to the army’s statistics, over 1,000 terrorists were killed by the IDF, most of them inside Israel, and many more were killed inside the Gaza Strip during the thousands of airstrikes the Israeli Air Force carried out.

The IDF has especially targeted high-ranking leaders of Hamas and has so far succeeded in killing dozens of senior management, including at least four members of its Military Council.

The statistics published by the Israeli military did not include the simmering low-intensity war that has broken out on the Lebanese border, where the Hezbollah terror group has so far fired hundreds of anti-tank missiles, mortar grenades and rockets toward Israel.

In turn, IDF has thwarted multiple infiltration attempts and struck dozens of Hezbollah targets inside southern Lebanon with airstrikes, mortar grenades, tanks and artillery.

The clashes between Israel and Iran's terror-proxy Hezbollah have led to casualties on both sides.