The World and Everything in It: October 7, 2024

PREROLL: One year ago, Hamas invaded southern Israel, one of the largest terror attacks in history. I’m Paul Butler. Today’s WORLD History Book remembers the tragic events of October 7th, 2023. Stay tuned.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

AUDIO: Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! All persons having business before the honorable, the Supreme Court [maybe fade here] of the United States are admonished to draw near and give their attention for the court is now sitting. God, save the United States and this honorable court. [GAVEL]

Today, a new Supreme Court term begins.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Our Legal Docket team is standing by to preview some of the most significant cases coming soon. Also today, the Monday Moneybeat. Economist David Bahnsen is standing by for that.

And that special WORLD History Book: a timeline of terror, remembering October 7th.

REICHARD: It’s Monday, October 7th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

REICHARD: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Hurricane Milton » Florida is bracing for another major hurricane.

Hurricane Milton is gathering strength over the Gulf of Mexico today and is expected to strike Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday. Michal Brennan with the National Hurricane Center:

BRENNAN:  We're gonna see widespread impacts, the potential for life threatening storm surge inundation, dangerous hurricane force winds along both coasts of Florida and even across portions of the peninsula as the storm is expected to maintain hurricane intensity as it moves across Florida.

It’s still too early to be precise, but right now, Tampa appears to be in the center of Milton’s path. And it’s currently projected to be a Category-3 hurricane when it strikes land.

Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie:

GUTHRIE:  I urge Floridians to finalize your storm preparations now, enact your plan. I highly encourage you to evacuate. We are preparing and I have the state emergency response team preparing for the largest evacuation that we have seen most likely since 2017 Hurricane Irma.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has once again declared a state of emergency throughout much of the state, calling it an “all hands on deck” situation.

Helene recovery » Meantime, in several southern states, the long road to recovery from Hurricane Helene has only just begun. Aid continues to pour into the region, but some Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson say the federal response has been lacking.

JOHNSON:  And you could just ask the people there on the ground. I have been there. When you talk to the people who are directly affected, they will tell you that this has been an abject failure.

And Republican North Carolina Senator Ted Budd added: 

BUDD:  Look, we're 11 days into this and just now seeing the 18th Airborne Corps, which has been waiting, had a make ready order them and the 82nd and the 101st, and they're here now. We're grateful for them, but it was too slow from Biden and the governor. And we needed rapid response.

But FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell fired back saying federal officials have been doing everything possible to assist. 

CRISWELL: This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people. You know, it's really a shame that we're putting politics ahead of helping people. And that's what we're here to do.

She forcefully pushed back against claims circulating online that a substantial chunk of FEMA funding was diverted to dealing with illegal immigrants. She called that “ridiculous” and just plain false.

Israel latest / Washington support » In Lebanon, a new round of airstrikes has hit Beirut suburbs as Israeli forces continue to target the infrastructure of the Hezbollah terror group. At the same time, Israel’s Iron Dome defense system is still shooting down incoming rockets.

SOUND: [Israel interceptors take down rockets]

Today is the one-year anniversary of the October 7th Hamas terror attacks against Israel. 

SOUND: [Israel hostage families protest]

Some family members of those abducted by Hamas during those attacks have taken to the streets in Tel Aviv.

RELATIVE: We are standing today after a whole year has passed, and they are still there. A year passed, and it seems like the situation has only escalated.

Meantime in Morocco, a Pro-Palestinian demonstration …

SOUND: [Pro-Palestinian demonstration in Morocco]

Some held up pro-Hamas signs emblazoned with the face of terrorist leader Yahya Sinwar.

Mike Turner on Biden/Iran » As tensions continue to rise in the Middle East, Israeli officials say they are preparing a military response to Iran's recent direct missile attack against Israel.

But President Biden says the U.S. would not support Israel striking Iran's nuclear sites.

And Republican Congressman Mike Turner, who chairs the House Intelligence committee is calling out the president over those remarks. 

TURNER: For him to give Iran the comfort that their actions of attack directly will not have any consequences for their nuclear weapons program is irresponsible.

He told CBS's "Face the Nation" that Biden’s recent remarks were a reversal from comments he’s made in the past.

Meanwhile, former President Trump says he does support Israel striking Iran's nuclear facilities, going on to say that nuclear proliferation is the "biggest risk we have."

SOUND: [Trump PA rally “Trump” cheers]

Trump in Butler, PA » Donald Trump rallied supporters over the weekend in Butler, Pennsylvania on the very same grounds where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July.

TRUMP:  Thank you to Pennsylvania. We love Pennsylvania. And as I was saying.

The president began by finishing the thought that was interrupted when a bullet pierced his right ear on July 13. 

TRUMP: I love that chart. I love that graph. Look at the number, that’s the day I left office. It was the lowest, the lowest it’s ever been, illegal immigration. Today it’s out of control.

On this visit to Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump was joined by running mate JD Vance and tech mogul Elon Musk, among others.

Trump also campaigned in Wisconsin on Sunday.

Election less than a month away » And with Election Day now less than one month away, many political analysts are watching a few states very closely: The two states we just mentioned, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as well as a third where Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned over the weekend. 

HARRIS: Oh it’s good to be back in Michigan!

Harris campaigning in Flint Michigan …

HARRIS: We are fighting for a future where we tap into the ambitions and the aspirations of the American people.

Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania are what’s known in politics as the “blue wall.” It’s difficult—though not impossible—for a Democratic candidate to win the White House without carrying those states.

Many analysts say if Trump carries any one of those three states, it would then be more likely than not that he wins the election.

An average of recent polls shows all three of those states effectively tied. 

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Previewing a brand new Supreme Court session. Plus, the Monday Moneybeat.

This is The World and Everything in It. 

NICK EICHER, HOST: It’s The World and Everything in It for this 7th day of October, 2024. We’re so glad you’ve joined us today. Good morning! I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. It’s time for Legal Docket. Well, it’s the First Monday of October, and that means the U.S. Supreme Court begins its new term today.

At this point, just 16 arguments are on the calendar for this month and next, and we know what’s typical for the court is to take somewhere between 60-and-80 cases for oral argument each term.

EICHER: So obviously a lot more to be added to the docket as the term rolls on.

REICHARD: Yes, that’s correct.

EICHER: Alright, well, we’ve pulled together a panel to help kick off the 24-25 Supreme Court session, and so let’s introduce legal correspondents Jenny Rough and Steve West.

REICHARD: Right! The more the merrier and I thought let’s get together to see what cases seem most consequential that we know of so far.

Jenny, Steve, good morning!

Well Steve, let’s start with you. What got your attention?

STEVE WEST: First up for me is a case called US v Skrmetti. The question is whether banning so-called “gender affirming care” is constitutional.

This is about medical treatments for minors with gender dysphoria. Here, two states, Tennessee and Kentucky, banned things like puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries that alter the bodies of children.

EICHER: This matter seems to be boiling over around the country.

WEST: Boiling would be the right metaphor because it’s certainly a hot issue. I mean, several states have laws similar to Tennessee and Kentucky. But other states have laws that do the opposite and allow minors to have medical treatments for gender dysphoria. And all that’s happened mostly within the last two years.

And what’s so odd is while these battles are going on in the U.S., European countries stopped doing this to minors. A report in the UK found insufficient evidence to support these drastic interventions. So, the U.S. is the outlier.

REICHARD: We know most children outgrow gender dysphoria. So what’s the legal argument for them to undergo medical procedures that render them sterile and sometimes require lifelong medical care?

WEST: Well, one legal argument comes under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. Challengers say the state is unfairly banning these procedures for transgender kids but allowing them for non-transgender kids. Parents also say that the 14th Amendment gives them the right to have whatever medical procedures they want for their children - a parental rights argument. Now, the lower court rejected that, agreeing that parents do have the fundamental right to control the education and well-being of their children. But that does not include medical treatments states have determined do more harm than good.

All this has to do with the level of legal scrutiny a law receives on review. In this case, the lower court said so long as the law had a rational basis, that’s good enough to pass muster. And protecting children is rational.

EICHER: Will this settle the matter once and for all?

WEST: No, it’ll just return the debate to the states to decide.

Whatever the ruling, the implications will spill over to other contentious legal battles, like whether men can use womens’ locker rooms and showers.

REICHARD: Well let’s move on now, Steve. What’s another legal battle you’re watching?

WEST: Well, in Free Speech Coalition v Paxton the question is whether requiring proof of age to access certain websites is a constitutional violation.

Here’s the background. Texas enacted a law that requires age verification prior to accessing a pornography website. Any reasonable means to verify age is acceptable; a driver’s license or some other government-issued ID will do.

EICHER: Of course there’s opposition here, calling itself the “Free Speech Coalition” but there’s an industry behind it.

WEST: That’s right. “Free Speech Coalition” sounds so benign, but that’s the pornography producers. They say the law infringes on the free speech rights of adults, it’s too broad, and so forth.

But Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says the law addresses a public safety concern.

And here again, most everything turns on the level of review the court applies. The lower court used the easiest level of scrutiny to meet, called rational basis review. So Texas wants to protect kids from the documented harms of being exposed to pornography. It says, that’s rational.

REICHARD: I’m curious here, Steve. How many states require age verification on these websites?

WEST: At least seven states do. It’s an important issue. How do we protect kids from pornography? If states cannot guard access to the internet, then the answer is we don’t protect kids from damaging material like that.

EICHER: That’s going to be a big Supreme Court case.

Alright, let’s bring in Jenny Rough and you’ve been looking into some important cases … what’s got your attention so far?

JENNY ROUGH: Well, a death-penalty case, first of all. This one is Glossip versus Oklahoma.

Let me start with the background. The case goes back more than a quarter century. It involves a man named Richard Glossip. He worked at a hotel in Oklahoma City.

Glossip’s boss was murdered during his time there, and a maintenance worker admitted to doing it. But he accused Glossip of being the mastermind and paid him to do the deed.

So, prosecutors cut a deal with the maintenance worker to testify to that.

REICHARD: By cutting a deal, you mean the maintenance worker who actually killed the boss did not get the death penalty, but Glossip did?

ROUGH: You have it right. He did. But his material participation is not the issue in this Supreme Court case.

Here’s what is and we have to go back to testimony by that maintenance worker, meaning the actual hit man. He testified that he was not under psychiatric care, and as it turns out, he was.

So, he gave false testimony and the prosecution knew it. But prosecutors didn’t bother to correct it. And further, they failed to turn over relevant medical records about his mental illness.

So, Glossip is looking to get a new trial. And here’s the twist: the state of Oklahoma agrees! Both parties are going before the Supreme Court saying the state violated Glossip’s due process rights and he shouldn’t be executed.

EICHER: So interesting, Jenny, if these two parties, if Glossip and the state are in agreement he gets a new trial, I’m not clear on what’s holding things up?

ROUGH: Well, here’s what it is. It’s going to sound unusual, but it’s not totally unheard of. In situations like these, what the Supreme Court does is it appoints a third party, someone who isn’t a party to the case to defend the lower court’s decision.

Lots going on. That’s just a gloss over of the Glossip case. I’ll do a deep dive in a few weeks.

EICHER: Looking forward to it. What else have you got your eye on?

ROUGH: Yeah, interesting environmental case from out west. This one’s a battle between economic development and environmental concerns. The case is called Seven County Infrastructure Coalition versus Eagle County, Colorado.

So, obviously, seven counties in Utah decided to build 88 miles of railroad track in a rural part of the state.

The track would connect to the National Rail system, and that runs into Colorado and on down to the Gulf Coast.

The purpose is to transport oil from a Utah basin to the refineries down there.

A federal agency issued an environmental impact statement and green-lighted the project.

But the dispute comes from Eagle County, Colorado, and some environmental groups. They say the federal agency didn’t do a good enough job.

Specifically, they say the agency’s assessment wasn’t detailed enough.

So what it boils down to is the parties are fighting over the scope of what’s required by law.

EICHER This case could further limit agency authority. Okay, Mary, back to you. What’s got your attention?

REICHARD: Yeah, absolutely. Last term the court threw out a precedent of nearly 40 years. The Chevron Doctrine. And that’s going to have downstream effects for sure.

Remember that Chevron allowed executive branch agencies to take an ambiguous law and write unambiguous rules. And that led to administrative agency creep over the decades, deep state power just grew and grew after that decision. And people subject to that unelected power got really frustrated, like David fighting Goliath.

EICHER: But I guess Goliath, so to speak, has representation. There are systems in place, careers on the line. So I imagine there’s pushback.

REICHARD: Oh, you know it. Here’s a concrete example of how frustrated people were with unaccountable agency power. Relentless, Inc is one of the cases that overturned Chevron. There, the law required commercial fishermen to take government observers aboard their boats. You know, to make sure they obeyed the law. That was fine, but when Congress didn’t appropriate money to pay those observers, the agency just stuck it to the fishermen to pay up! And it was a lot of money, too, up to 20% of revenues. Even though the law itself said nothing about who pays.

EICHER: So the fishermen won and took Chevron down with them. You mentioned downstream effects, does that mean cases this term?

REICHARD: It does, and there’s one being heard tomorrow in fact that deals with “ghost guns.” Those are firearms made out of kits. But the separate parts don’t have serial numbers on them. So they’re not traceable. And that’s a problem.

So two years ago, the ATF expanded the definition of “firearm” from an older law. And said the parts must have a serial number on them and be licensed, and that anyone buying those parts needs to have background checks.

The legal argument is the agency exceeded its authority by redefining the word “firearm” so it could write rules about parts. That’s a job for Congress.

EICHER: Sounds like a case from last term about bump stocks.

REICHARD: Very similar to that one. This one is quite similar, yes. The justices found the ATF exceeded its authority by banning bump stocks in that case by redefining a word. So we’ll have to see.

And in another agency dispute, the FDA denied approval for flavored vape products that kids like. I mean, one has the name “Jimmy the Juice Man Peachy Strawberry.” You know, obviously meant to attract kids.

Now the FDA says kids need protection from these unhealthy things. But vape makers say the FDA is being arbitrary and capricious. So the court has to decide if that’s true.

EICHER: Anything else on your radar as we wrap up?

REICHARD: Yes, and these are cases the court hasn’t decided to take up yet. It likely will, but we don’t know for sure.

One is out of New York, where legislators seem determined to hem in religious organizations. In New York, employers have to include abortion coverage in their health insurance plans, but religious groups are exempt. But there’s a catch- the exemption applies only if those religious groups limit their services to people of the same faith. Imagine nuns required to only help other Catholics.

Another case is out of Wisconsin and it asks whether a court gets to decide what activities are not “typical” religious actions, and therefore disqualifying from tax exempt status. And here again, courts getting involved in the details of religion.

Finally, I’ll mention a case out of Maryland that asks whether religious people have the right to be informed and then opt out their children from LGBTQ teaching in public schools. All sorts of contentious details in that one and if the court takes this up, I’ll bring you all those contentious details. But for now, we’re just waiting.

EICHER: Alright. Steve West, Jenny Rough, thanks!

WEST: Thank you.

ROUGH: Thank you.

EICHER: And that’s this week’s Legal Docket.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Next up on The World and Everything in It: the Monday Moneybeat.

NICK EICHER, HOST: It’s time to talk business, markets, and the economy with financial analyst and adviser David Bahnsen. David’s head of the wealth management firm The Bahnsen Group, and he’s here now.

David, good morning!

DAVID BAHNSEN: Well, good morning, Nick, good to be with you.

EICHER: Well, surprisingly strong jobs report for September, David. Well beyond expectations: 254,000 jobs, the rate of unemployment ticking down a 10th. And overall, sector by sector, we see fairly broad based hiring with just this big exception, manufacturing, the only sector to regress.

BAHNSEN: Yeah, it was. And with upward revisions to the past couple months, there's been chatter about how some of these good jobs reports have been followed with downward revisions. This was you were seeing some of the past couple reports followed with upward revisions. And all of that is part of the challenges of seasonality and various accounting factors. It's funny, I was on Fox Business on Friday morning as the jobs report came out, giving commentary live and talking with the host on the show, and the Kamala Harris campaign tweeted out my comments, as if me just merely commenting that the jobs report being good was somehow some sort of a campaign boost for them. And of course, this is what happens with the over politicization of everything is objective. Economic data is trying to be used by one side negatively and another side positively. But you know, these jobs reports are really not campaign fodder either way, the downward pressure on unemployment should be the norm and is not a matter of public policy almost all the time. What is going on is that there are not a lot of openings and there's not a lot of workers, and then employers are very hesitant to terminate. I would also add employees are very hesitate to quit right now, which is very different than it was three years ago. The quits rate has dropped a lot. And so I think that there is a concern that, well, if we do let people go, we're not going to necessarily be able to replace them. And there's a concern that if someone were to quit, they're not necessarily going to be able to find another job. And so you're kind of stuck in the middle there, and that's a good spot to be the unemployment rate down to 4.1% long term. As you know, Nick and we've talked about dozens of times on this podcast, my more structural concern is for the labor participation force to grow. That isn't moving at all, but in the month by month by month data, most people that want a job in this country are able to get one.

EICHER: So I was going to ask, and I just can’t call it up. Recently there was a massive downward adjustment on jobs, and I wonder whether we’re going to have the same phenomenon here.

BAHNSEN: No, it wasn't from a single report. There was an aggregate that they do every year to update from seasonal factors, and there was a big downward revision over a whole period. In 2019, the same thing happened. It was, I think, 660,000 jobs then. And in the more recent one, it was 850,000. Goldman Sachs thinks that that downward revision is going to end up getting upward revised 500,000, and no one really knows. And I fully understand why people would be frustrated by the lumpiness of this data, but I've intensely studied how this stuff is computed, and you just don't have a choice if you're going to try to have a federally administered labor aggregation, because it's based on survey. And then you want to update it after you get census data. Surveys are not census, so they are lumpy along the way. And then when you get census, you have to true it up. And look, I'm all for finding juicy conspiracy theories whenever we can but this one doesn't add up. And as I pointed out, you know, for those wanting to make it about cahoots with the BLS, which has 2000 federal employees, and the Biden administration, you know this happened during the Trump administration, too, almost to the same number.

EICHER: So speaking of jobs, the very quick settlement of the longshoreman’s strike, settling with the union representing workers at east coast and gulf ports. Did that not have the seeds of serious damage, and it’s got to be good news—doesn’t it?—that we won’t be facing a big supply shock.

BAHNSEN: Well, the thing is, Nick, is it's hard to answer that because the unknowns in these what was essentially a hostage negotiation, and I only can say that because the head of the longshoreman union, fresh off of depositing his $950,000 a year annual salary paycheck, told us that this was a hostage negotiation, that they would shut down the economy if they had to to get what they wanted, and that while they asked for an 80% pay increase, and right now, appear to be settling for a 60% pay increase, the major issue was the demand that there be a permanent ban on ever technologizing and digitizing and some of the various improvements that Malaysia and other very significant global ports have already done. All at once this allows for sympathy for where technology could end up reducing the need for labor.

But really, if we are to think through this as Christians and as citizens, this is absolutely outrageous. The rent seeking and saying, I want to be contractually protected from anyone or anything that can ever do my job better or more efficiently. And had we ever done this with any other sector, we would be living in a primitive world, and so why not focus on “Well, we like retraining commitments, and we'd like certain severance commitments if there were to be,” you know, there's so many creative things you could do that don't inhibit advancement and progress, but to ask in a union negotiation to be protected against the progress of technology just strikes me as incredibly anti market, anti capitalistic and anti American. And yes, it could have gotten bigger. I think that my expectation is it would go about a week longer than it did. But, you know, there's still certain things lingering out there, but you're right, this thing settled up quicker. And obviously the longshoreman unions were not ignorant to the fact that it's an election season, and that gave them even more leverage. And I think that they used it to the hilt.

EICHER: So they did compromise on pay and chose to duck that technology issue. They put it off to January, right after the election, but might we be facing a ticking time bomb here on the tech upgrades to U.S. ports?

BAHNSEN: You're right. That has not been settled. So that's been punted, but they got the other components pushed out. And then I think there's sort of different questions as to the longshoreman union doesn't know who they'll be negotiating with in a few months, either. The country doesn't know. And you know, my particular guess is that with the Harris administration, be after the election is beyond them, they'll probably give them what they want. With the Trump administration, he definitely has a more pro union and pro labor disposition than has traditionally been associated with the right. However, Trump has never backed down on Right to Work states, and I pray he doesn't. If he does get a second term, I pray he'll hold his ground there for the sake of freedom in those states and workers who have them, but that's one of the big issues they want, is protection on the right to work state factor, and I don't know how the Trump administration will handle that. So there's a lot of TBDs still out there, Nick.

EICHER: Alright, David Bahnsen is founder, managing partner, and chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group.

If you aren’t subscribing to David’s regular market writing, you can find out more at Dividendcafe.com. It’s free and you can receive it in your inbox. Dividendcafe.com.

Thanks for your analysis this week, David, we’ll see you next time.

Have a great week!

BAHNSEN: Thanks so much, Nick. Great to be with you.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Monday, October 7th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Up next, the WORLD History Book.

One year ago today Hamas invaded southern Israel. A brazen act of terror. It was directed primarily at civilians. Hamas murdered nearly 1200 Israelis, including at least 40 Americans. Hundreds were taken hostage.

WORLD’s Paul Butler walks us through the events of that terrible day

PAUL BUTLER: As the sun rises on Saturday, October 7th, 2023 Hamas flies explosive drones into Israeli monitoring towers along the border fence with Gaza and begins jamming IDF communication centers. At 6:30 a.m. air raid sirens begin blaring across the southern and central regions of Israel as Hamas launches 3,000 rockets—exceeding the capacity of the Iron Dome defense system to respond. Many rockets hit their targets.

SOUND: MUHAMMAD DEIF

At the same time, the leader of the Hamas' military wing posts a 10-minute recorded message online that Operation Al-Aqsa Flood has begun. He urges Palestinians to attack Israeli settlements with whatever weapons they have.

Under the cover of the rocket barrage, terrorists bulldoze through fences and emerge en masse from tunnels.

At 6:42 a.m., Hamas fighters cross the border and head inland on motorcycles. Fourteen minutes later they pull into Be’eri—a communal farming settlement—just three miles east of Gaza.

SOUND: BODYCAM FOOTAGE OF ATTACK

They begin shooting indiscriminately. Pockets of resistance slow the attack, but the kibbutz is quickly overrun and Hamas terrorists kill more than 100 people and take dozens of hostages.

SOUND: NOVA MUSIC FESTIVAL WITH MISSILES IN THE BACKGROUND

Meanwhile, less than five miles away, more than 3000 people are attending the Supernova Music Festival near the Re'im kibbutz. Many have been partying all night…others are getting an early start. At 7:00am, Hamas militants arrive…some on motorcycles, others flying in on motorized paragliders. Festival goers flee to their cars, but terrorists kill 364 and kidnap 40.

By 7:40 the Israeli Defense Forces confirm the invasion and issue warnings across southern Israel—telling residents to find immediate shelter and remain indoors.

SOUND: SIRENS / ROCKETS FROM PERSPECTIVE OF JERUSALEM

At 8:15 a.m. Jerusalem sirens begin as a rocket barrage falls short of its target…striking a forested area on the city's western edge.

At 8:23 a.m. the Israeli government declares a state of alert for war…activating tens of thousands of reservists. 10 minutes later, Israel’s counteroffensive begins against Hamas.

SOUND: IAF ATTACKING GAZA

At 10:47 a.m. the Israeli Air Force begins firing into Gaza—in an attempt to knock out the rocket launchers continuing to fire into Israel.

48 minutes later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes his first public statement about the conflict on Twitter…He later records this message which is broadcast across the country:

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: [HEBREW WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION] Citizens of Israel, we are at war, not in an operation or in rounds, but at war. This morning, Hamas launched a murderous surprise attack against the State of Israel and its citizens. I convened the heads of the security establishment and ordered – first of all – to clear out the communities that have been infiltrated by terrorists. At the same time, I have ordered an extensive mobilization of reserves and that we return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price. We are at war and we will win it.

In Gaza, militants begin returning with hostages and captured Israeli military equipment.

SOUND: CELEBRATIONS

Casualties begin to mount in Gaza, as the Israelis fight back.

SOUND: GAZA MORGUE

At 5:30 a.m. in Washington D.C. the National Security Council issues a statement condemning the terrorist attack and reaffirms US support for Israel.

SOUND: NETANYAHU MEETING WITH THE WAR CABINET

Not long after, Prime Minister Netanyahu meets with the Israeli security cabinet—reiterating that a state of war had officially begun.

SOUND: SOLIDARITY PROTEST IN IRAN

Meanwhile in the capital of Iran, thousands of supporters gather in Tehran’s Palestine Square in a show of solidarity. Some carry banners reading “The Great Freedom Operation Has Begun” as fireworks fill the air. Similar rallies erupt across the region overnight.

In this country, President Joe Biden addresses members of the press from the White House after speaking with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

JOE BIDEN: Good afternoon, today, the people of Israel are under attack, orchestrated by a terrorist organization, Hamas. In this moment of tragedy, I want to say to them and to the world and to terrorists everywhere that the United States stands with Israel. We will not ever fail to have their back.

Let me say this as clearly as I can: this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks, to seek advantage. The world is watching. And let there be no mistake, the United States stands with the state of Israel. Thank you very much.

On October 8th, Israel formally declares a state of war. Daily rocket strikes begin from the north as Hezbollah seeks to take advantage of the Hamas attack.

The military starts mass evacuations of everyone living near the Gaza Strip. On October 9th Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promises that Israel will completely defeat Hamas. No matter what the cost:

NETANYAHU: Israel is at war. We didn't want this war. It was forced upon us in the most brutal and savage way. But though Israel didn't start this war, Israel will finish it. Hamas will understand that by attacking us, they have made a mistake of historic proportions. We will exact a price that will be remembered by them and Israel’s other enemies for decades to come.

According to Action on Armed Violence, the October 7th Hamas attack killed 1,269 victims: 816 civilians, 59 police officers, 382 military personnel, and 13 emergency responders. Hamas also took 236 hostages. About 100 remain in captivity. It is unknown how many are still alive.

That’s the week’s WORLD History Book. I’m Paul Butler.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: analysis of what’s next in the Middle East, the war involving Israel, Iran, and Iran’s proxies. And clean-up efforts continue across the U.S. after Hurricane Helene. We’ll have a story of how residents and local businesses are working together to start rebuilding. That and more tomorrow.

I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is Biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible says: “The path of the righteous is level; you make level the way of the righteous. In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.” —Isaiah 26:7, 8

Go now in grace and peace.

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