October 7: This is how Israel’s deadliest day went

Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system responded, but was quickly overwhelmed by the volume of incoming fire.

At the same time, Hamas fighters – the group later said it was 1,200 strong – stormed across the border on motorcycles, in pickup trucks and even in motorized paragliders.

They used explosives and bulldozers to breach the fence separating Gaza from Israel and attacked nearly 50 different locations, including kibbutzim communities, army bases and a music festival.

Militants killed crowds of festival-goers and went door-to-door in farming communities, shooting residents in their homes.

In March, a United Nations report confirmed that there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that rape was committed during the attack. The report also found “clear and convincing information” that some of the hostages abducted that day had been raped.

– Slow reaction of the army –

By 8:30 a.m., the militants had stormed six military bases: Erez at the northern end of the Gaza Strip, Nahal Oz opposite Gaza City, two more near Kibbutz Beeri, one in Reim near central Gaza, and two in the south near the Egyptian border.