It was the darkest moment in Jewish history since the Holocaust. On October 7th, 2023, Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israelis and abducted into Gaza another 250 as hostages.
And in the days after, we began to fill in details of that day's depravity. The Israeli Defense Forces granted Scripps News access to a devastated kibbutz.
It was one of at least 19 kibbutzim where Hamas militants rampaged, murdered and committed atrocities.
In one house, there were still bloodstains on the floor.
At Kfar Aza, Hamas killed 50 people and abducted 12.
Scripps News saw the Kalashnikov rifles and rocket propelled grenade launchers they brought when they breached the kibbutz. Some of the houses there were burned.
SEE THE ARCHIVES | Scripps News' coverage of Israel's war with Hamas
Families of those taken hostage told Scripps News they wanted their government to prioritize, above and before all else, the return of their loved ones.
Among those taken were Judith Raanan of Illinois, along with her 18-year-old daughter, Natalie.
Judith and Natalie were the first hostages released. But ten other American citizens remained in Gaza.
Before his name became the most well known of all the hostages, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin shared with us his October 7th story.
"What had come in at 8:11 were two text messages from Hersh," Rachel Goldberg said. "One said, 'I love you,' and one said, 'I'm sorry.' As a mother, I knew immediately something horrible is happening."
We would learn Hersh's fate eleven months later. Hamas murdered him and five fellow hostages.
RELATED STORY | Israel recovers the bodies of 6 hostages in Gaza, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin
One thing that was already clear last October: the war was about to escalate. Hamas continued firing its rockets at Israel, and Irael's military began massing on its southern border.
From an apartment overlooking Gaza, we witnessed the early salvos of Israel's full-scale invasion of Gaza.
Since then, Gazan authories say more than 40,000 people — civilians and Hamas fighters — have been killed.
