Country Report on Terrorism 2023 - Chapter 1 - Israel

Overview:  On October 7, Hamas terrorists and armed Palestinian militants from other terrorist organizations in Gaza invaded Israel by land, sea, and air and murdered an estimated 1,200 people.  Hamas terrorists launched thousands of rockets into Israel, breached the security fence between Israel and Gaza, and infiltrated into more than 20 Israeli communities along the border.  Terrorists killed men, women, children, babies, and elderly people; raped, sexually assaulted, and mutilated women and men; and took hostage 253 Israeli and foreign citizens.  Forty-four Americans were killed, and 12 Americans were among those taken hostage.  This represented the most Americans killed in a terrorist attack since the attacks of September 11, 2001.  The victims of the attack also included nationals of Argentina, China, France, Nepal, the Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, and Ukraine.  Tens of thousands of Israelis left the area after the Hamas attack, and many of these individuals remained displaced at the end of 2023.

In response to the deadliest terrorist attack in its 75-year history, the Israeli government declared war on Hamas on October 8.  Israeli soldiers remained in the territory through the end of 2023.  Prime Minister Netanyahu said the goal of the war was to destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, return the hostages to Israel, and prevent future terrorist threats against Israel from the Gaza Strip.

On October 8, after Israel declared war on Hamas, Hizballah, an Iran-backed foreign terrorist organization, launched anti-tank missiles into northern Israel from Lebanon, which were followed by responsive attacks by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).  Clashes between Hizballah and Israel continued through 2023, with nine IDF soldiers and six civilians killed in Israel and about 200 Hizballah fighters killed by strikes from the IDF.  While Hizballah’s attacks did not lead to a full-scale war, due to daily hostilities the Israeli government evacuated some 80,000 civilians from its northern border for their own safety.  A more expansive conflict between Israel and Hizballah would be a significant escalation to the war in Gaza, as Hizballah has as many as 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel and thousands of fighters prepared to invade.  Israeli leaders have stated to Hizballah that they would take further steps to prevent an October 7-style attack from Lebanon.

In addition to the October 7 attack and Israel-Hamas war, Palestinian terrorists led a series of other deadly terrorist attacks across Israel in 2023.  According to Israeli authorities, 43 Israelis and foreigners were killed by these other terrorist attacks in 2023, an increase from the 32 killed in 2022.  During the year, Israeli security forces frequently entered the West Bank to conduct counterterrorism operations, including arrests of suspected terrorists, which often led to clashes with Palestinian militants.  Violent clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians in the West Bank drastically increased after the Israel-Hamas war.

2023 Terrorist Incidents:  Separate from the war in Gaza, Israeli authorities reported 289 shooting attacks in 2023, after 305 such incidents reported in 2022.  Most of the shootings occurred as Israeli troops entered Palestinian cities in the West Bank to arrest suspects allegedly involved in terrorist activities, but many terrorist attacks targeted Israeli civilians.  The following is a representative list of terrorist attacks provided by Israeli authorities:

• On January 27 a Palestinian shot and killed seven persons outside a synagogue in Jerusalem.  Three Israelis were wounded in the shooting.
• On February 10 an Arab-Israeli rammed his car into a group of people waiting at a bus stop in Jerusalem, killing three and wounding four.  Two of the killed were Israeli children 6 and 8 years old.
• On March 9 a 23-year-old member of Hamas from the West Bank opened fire in downtown Tel Aviv outside of a crowded bar and shot three persons, one of whom later died.
• On April 7 a Palestinian used his car to run over eight tourists on Tel Aviv’s Mediterranean promenade, killing one Italian tourist and injuring seven other persons.
• On November 30, two Palestinians opened fire at a bus stop at Jerusalem’s main entrance, killing three Israelis.  A fourth Israeli was mistaken to be one of the terrorists and was killed by Israeli security forces.  Six others were injured.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security:  Israel’s legislature passed two amendments to its counterterrorism (CT) law in 2023.  Amendment 9 allowed the state to punish an individual for up to one year in prison for the “systematic and ongoing consumption of certain publications of the Hamas and ISIS organizations that include statements of praise, sympathy, or encouragement for acts of terrorism.”  Amendment 10 gave Israel’s defense minister the authority to declare an individual a “terrorist operative,” even if the individual was not a declared member of a designated group.  Israel passed legislation to revoke the citizenship or residency of an operative who received compensation for committing an act of terrorism.  Israeli security forces took law enforcement actions against suspected terrorists and terrorist groups.  Israeli authorities designated several Palestinian currency exchanges for their links to terrorist activity.  In August, Israel and the United States designated the Lebanese so-called NGO “Green Without Borders” as a terrorist organization that served as a cover for Hizballah’s terrorist activities along Lebanon’s border with Israel.  Israel did not repatriate any foreign terrorist fighters in 2023.

Israel was designated as the 41st member of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program in September, which requires broad CT partnership, including routine information sharing and border screening cooperation.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism:  Israel is a member of the Financial Action Task Force, and MONEYVAL (the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism).  The country’s Financial Intelligence Unit, the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority (IMPA), is a member of the Egmont Group.

In June, Israel announced the seizure of millions of dollars’ worth of digital funds intended for use by Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.  Following Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, IMPA co-chaired the Counterterrorist Financing Taskforce-Israel, which aims to strengthen efforts to disrupt the international money flows to Hamas and support global antiterrorism efforts through the coordination of financial intelligence and information sharing.

Countering Violent Extremism:  There were no changes in 2023.

International and Regional Cooperation:  In 2023 the United States and Israel did not have a formal CT Dialogue but shared intelligence and best practices against terrorism.  Israel had bilateral CT dialogues with the EU, Great Britain, Germany, France, Australia, and the Philippines and collaborated with NATO on the threat of UAVs and maritime security.