Three Years Later: Why October 7 Was an Attack on America and Our Shared Security

Three years ago today, Hamas launched a coordinated, barbaric terrorist assault against Israel. Thousands of radical Islamist militants breached border defenses, slaughtered innocent civilians in their homes, and turned a music festival into a site of unimaginable violence.

Yet a dangerous misconception persists in public discourse: the belief that October 7 was strictly a distant, foreign conflict.

It was not. October 7 was a direct attack on American citizens, American interests, and the core foundation of our national security. Three years later, as we remember the victims, we must remain clear-eyed about how the actions of Hamas directly connect to the safety of the American homeland.

The American Victims: Proof That Terror Targets Us

When Hamas terrorists swept through southern Israel, they targeted civilians without regard to nationality. Among the over 1,200 people murdered and more than 240 kidnapped were dozens of dual U.S.-Israeli citizens. American families were shattered in an instant:

• Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose parents made his name a global symbol of hope before he was executed in captivity.
• Omer Neutra & Itay Chen, young American dual citizens who fought heroically on the border and whose sacrifice represented the best of service.
• Abigail Idan, who was just 4 years old when she was dragged into Gaza after her parents were murdered in front of her before being released in late 2023.

These Americans were not accidental collateral damage. They were targeted, tortured, and taken by a designated foreign terrorist organization. Their targeting directly ties the violence of Hamas to American soil and reminds us that our citizens remain at risk whenever radical Islamist terrorism is allowed to operate unhindered.

The Direct Link Between Hamas, October 7, and U.S. National Security

At SAN, our mission rests on an undeniable principle: America's national security does not stop at our borders, and terrorist threats cannot be ignored simply because they originate overseas.

The threat Hamas poses to U.S. security is three-fold:

1. Radical Islamist Ideology Has No Borders: Hamas is part of a broader network of radical Islamist terrorism backed by state sponsors like Iran. Allowing a violent terrorist organization to execute an attack of this magnitude without total defeat signals to extremist groups worldwide, including those targeting the American homeland, that the free world is vulnerable.
2. Weakness Invites Global Instability: When terrorists target American citizens abroad with impunity, global trade, international travel, and the stability of critical regions collapse. Projecting weakness in the Middle East directly emboldens foreign adversaries and terrorist cells elsewhere, increasing the threat level to our homeland.
3. Deterrence is Our First Line of Defense: American national security relies on strong, uncompromising deterrence. Allowing October 7 to fade from memory or treating Hamas as a localized threat erodes our posture, showing hostile actors that American resolve can simply be waited out.

Standing Strong Against Terror

Standing firmly with Israel to dismantle Hamas is not merely foreign diplomacy; it is a strategic necessity for American homeland security. Confronting Hamas, cutting off its financial networks, and holding its leaders accountable, fully aligned with SAN's mission, is essential to ensuring that radical Islamist terrorism does not strike our own communities next.

October 7 was an attack on Israel, on American citizens, and on the security of the free world.

Never forget October 7. Never ignore the threat.