Today in History: October 7, surprise attacks spark Israel-Hamas war

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 7, the 280th day of 2026. There are 85 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. Israel's retaliatory offensive and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war killed tens of thousands in Gaza, displaced about 90% of its population and destroyed vast areas until major combat subsided with an October 2025 ceasefire agreement.

Also on this date:

In 1765, the Stamp Act Congress convened in New York to draw up colonial grievances against England.

In 1913, the first moving assembly line began operation at the Ford Motor Company factory in Highland Park, Michigan.

In 1916, in the most lopsided victory in college football history, Georgia Tech defeated Cumberland University 222-0 in Atlanta.

In 1985, Palestinian gunmen hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro (ah-KEE’-leh LOW’-roh) in the Mediterranean Sea. The hijackers shot and killed Leon Klinghoffer, a Jewish American tourist in a wheelchair, and pushed him overboard, before surrendering on Oct. 9.

In 1992, trade representatives of the United States, Canada and Mexico initialed the North American Free Trade Agreement during a ceremony in San Antonio, Texas, in the presence of President George H.W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

In 1998, Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was beaten and left tied to a wooden fence post outside of Laramie, Wyoming; he died five days later. Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney are serving life sentences for Shepard’s murder.

In 2001, war in Afghanistan started as the United States and Britain launched air attacks against military targets and Osama bin Laden’s training camps in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. The U.S. military completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan to end the 20-year war on Aug. 30, 2021.

In 2003, California voters recalled Gov. Gray Davis and elected Arnold Schwarzenegger their new governor.

In 2006, Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who wrote stories critical of Kremlin policies in the early years of Vladimir Putin's presidency, was shot and killed in Moscow. The Kremlin denied any role in the death of Politkovskaya, who worked for an independent newspaper.

In 2019, President Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northeastern Syria. Syria's Kurds accused the U.S. of turning its back on its allies and risking gains made in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Today’s Birthdays: Author Thomas Keneally is 91. Singer John Mellencamp is 75. Rock musician Tico Torres (Bon Jovi) is 73. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is 71. TV personality Simon Cowell is 67. Singer-actor Toni Braxton is 59. Rock singer-musician Thom Yorke (Radiohead) is 58. Actor Nicole Ari Parker is 56. Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson is 50. Singer Taylor Hicks is 50. Actor Omar Miller is 48. MLB player Mookie Betts is 34. Actor Kira Kosarin is 29. Actor Lulu Wilson is 21.