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A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

Israel News

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken appears on NBC's "Meet the Press", Oct. 8, 2023. (Screenshot)

US tracking reports of Americans killed and abducted in Hamas invasion of Israel

Ron Kampeas, JTAPublished October 8, 2023

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Biden administration is investigating reports that Americans are among the at least 600 people killed and the 100 or so abducted in the Hamas invasion of Israel. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking on Sunday news...

mages of Israelis who were missing or were known to be abducted circulated widely a day after Hamas launched a sweeping attack on Israel. (Screenshot)

Death toll leaps to 600, some hostages freed while others remain as Hamas attack on Israel enters 2nd day

JTA StaffPublished October 8, 2023

This is a developing story. (JTA) — As dawn broke in Israel Sunday, the contours of the previous 24 hours of violence following a broad attack by Hamas were still coming into devastating focus. A notice from the Israeli embassy in Washington,...

Deadliest terror attack in Israel’s history: A timeline of devastation

JNSPublished October 8, 2023

On Saturday morning, Oct. 7, 2023, the Hamas terrorist organization launched a massive assault on Israel from the Gaza Strip, infiltrating several Israeli communities, killing at least 600 people, wounding over 2,000 and taking hostages back into Gaza. An...

IDF shells Lebanon after Hezbollah fires into Israel

JNSPublished October 8, 2023

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday hit targets in southern Lebanon with artillery, after Hezbollah terrorists there fired mortars at the Jewish state. The military confirmed that there were no casualties in the Hezbollah attack. The shells landed in...

Israeli security forces search from Hamas Militants in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, Oct. 7, 2023.

What happened in Israel? The Hamas attack, its grim toll and what’s next, explained

JTA StaffPublished October 8, 2023

(JTA) — Saturday was a day of bloodshed unprecedented in Israel’s history.  Beginning in the morning of a Jewish holiday, hundreds of militants broke through the barrier between Israel and Gaza and spread into more than 20 locations, killing 300...

Hamas terrorists allegedly kidnapping Israelis and taking them into Gaza, as seen in pixelated video from social media, Oct. 7, 2023.

Hamas claims 163 Israeli captives taken to Gaza

Published October 7, 2023

Hamas claimed on Saturday to have abducted 163 Israelis and taken them to the Gaza Strip after dispatching dozens of terrorists into the Jewish state as part of a major attack. Unconfirmed footage circulating online showed alleged Hamas terrorists ushering...

The scene where a rocket fired from Gaza into Israel hit and caused damaged in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, Oct. 7, 2023.

250 Israelis dead, 1,500 injured amid Hamas rockets and terror infiltrations

JNSPublished October 7, 2023

Hamas killed more than 250 Israelis on Saturday as it launched a massive offensive from the Gaza Strip, including firing more than 3,000 rockets and sending dozens of Palestinian terrorists to infiltrate the Jewish state. Around 5:30 p.m., 11 hours into...

At least eight Israelis sustained injuries as Hamas launched its latest rocket barrage at the central region, Oct. 7, 2023.

Evening Hamas rocket barrages injure 12 in central Israel

Published October 7, 2023

(JNS) At least 12 Israelis sustained injuries of varying degrees on Saturday night as Hamas unleased several barrages of rockets on Israel's central region, with direct hits reported in Tel Aviv, Bat Yam and Givatayim. At around 8 p.m., Hamas claimed...

Israeli security forces search from Hamas terrorists in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, Oct. 7, 2023.

Active hostage situations in at least two Israeli communities

JNSPublished October 7, 2023

(JNS) -- Hamas terrorists were still holding hostages in Kibbutz Be'eri and Ofakim, some 12 miles from the Gaza border, on Saturday night. "Many houses have been taken over, there are hostages, there are dead and wounded," Israel's Kan News public...

Israeli security forces search from Hamas Militants in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, Oct. 7, 2023.

Israelis on the Gaza border outraged at weeks of government complacency

Senior Columnist Rob Eshman, The ForwardPublished October 7, 2023

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. David Levy woke up at 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning to the sounds of an unrelenting missile attack. “It was...

Israelis donate blood at a hospital in Tel Aviv after a barrage of rockets were fired and fighters from the Gaza Strip infiltrated Israel, Oct. 7, 2023. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli opposition, pro-democracy protesters press unity in face of attacks from Hamas

Andrew Silow-Carroll, JTAPublished October 7, 2023

(JTA) — Hours after Saturday’s deadly surprise attack on Israel by Hamas, the Israeli protest group Achim le’Neshek (Brothers and Sisters in Arms) was helping arrange transportation for army reservists being called to the front.  “Brothers...

Israeli security forces search from Hamas Militants in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, Oct. 7, 2023.

‘It was utter chaos’: Families and survivors describe the horrors of Hamas’ invasion

Ron Kampeas, JTAPublished October 7, 2023

(JTA) — Yoni Asher’s voice was steady but his urgency was unmistakable.  “I ask anyone coming to Efrat Katz’s home to tell me they are there, I have not heard from them for four hours,” he said on Israel’s government-run Kan radio.  “Them”...

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