Hundreds of Israelis were murdered by Palestinian Islamic terrorists on Saturday, and thousands more were injured after terrorists launched thousands of rockets into Israel and stormed into the country after overwhelming Israel’s border defenses.

Approximately 300 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed from the attacks and nearly 2,000 more have been confirmed to be injured. Those numbers are expected to continue rising as the attacks happened simultaneously throughout the country and some communities were completely overtaken by Hamas.

Hamas terrorists kidnapped Israeli soldiers and civilians and are now holding them hostage in Gaza, many have been beaten and tortured. Footage of the atrocities posted online showed Palestinians desecrating the bodies of dead Israeli citizens.

Former US Navy Admiral James Stavridis, who served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 2009 to 2013, said early on Saturday morning, before the death toll started to climb, that the attacks were on the same-level as the September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans.

“To us as Americans, in some way, these numbers sound kind of small, like 20 people killed, or 40 people killed,” Stavridis said during a cable news interview. “I’d invite listeners to recognize that there are only 7 million Jews in the state of Israel, so, [on a] population-adjusted basis, when 20 Israelis are killed, or 20 hostages are captured, that’s like 1,000 Americans. So if we get into 60 Israelis killed, we’re looking at truly a 9/11 level event, and I think that number’s going to be well above 60.”

“They may have 20, 40, 60, 80 hostages right now,” he said. “Those are big numbers.”

Images on social media showed terrorists massacring men, women, children, and the elderly. The terrorists went door-to-door looking for Israelis to murder, opened fire at a concert, kidnapped families, and shot people trying to escape.

The IDF responded by launching Operation “Swords of Iron,” deploying special forces near the border, mobilizing thousands of reservists, and launching widespread airstrikes on terrorist positions inside Gaza.

One week before Hamas launched a surprise attack in Israel, a top aide to President Joe Biden touted a relative calm in the Middle East.

“The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades,” said U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, according to The Atlantic. He went on to stress that “challenges remain,” citing Iran’s nuclear weapons program and “tensions” between Israel and the Palestinians, but added, “the amount of time I have to spend on crisis and conflict in the Middle East today compared to any of my predecessors going back to 9/11 is significantly reduced.”

Sullivan, a former Obama administration official, was speaking at The Atlantic Festival. He had just talked about how the larger region had reached a semblance of peace after the Biden team “walked into” a chaotic situation dating back to the prior administration.

“And what we said is we want to depressurize, deescalate, and ultimately integrate the Middle East region,” Sullivan said, as seen in a video of the remarks. “The war in Yemen is in its 19th month of truce. For now, the Iranian attacks against U.S. forces have stopped. Our presence in Iraq is stable. I emphasize for now because all of that can change.”

In the 24 hours since Hamas began its attack on Saturday and Israeli Defense Forces struck back, officials have estimated hundreds of people have died and thousands are wounded in Israel and Gaza. Israel has declared a “state of war” while Hamas has called for broader “Islamic resistance.”

With the conflict escalating, clips of Sullivan’s comments gained traction on social media, leading to a torrent of criticism of him and the Biden administration that included references to controversies stemming from the deadly Benghazi embassy attack in 2012 and the 2016 presidential election.

Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (last week): "The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades" pic.twitter.com/59MYUXhmHf

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 7, 2023

“Jake Sullivan, the former Clinton aide who participated [in both the] Benghazi and Russia hoaxes, is one of those responsible for the worst foreign policy debacles and scandals in American history,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, alluding to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“This man, a leader of the Russia collusion hoax and other damaging information operations, is a liar and a fraud. And the proof of his claim is in the eating of the pudding. He is a liar. More attention should be paid to him,” said The Federalist Editor-In-Chief Mollie Hemingway.

“We are less safe with this Biden team,” said Richard Grenell, who served as an ambassador and acting director of national intelligence during the Trump administration. Edward Wong, a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times, said, “US intelligence failure on Israel-Gaza.”

The Biden administration is additionally facing intense scrutiny over a recent $6 billion agreement with Iran that secured the release of five American prisoners. Officials with the Biden administration pushed back on any suggestion that the unlocked funds were tied to the attack in Israel, insisting the money could only be used for humanitarian purposes.

Biden, in a statement to social media, said he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “reiterated [his] unwavering commitment to Israel’s security.”