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OCT 7: The War Against Hamas Through the Eyes of an Israeli Commando Officer
A shocking, detailed account of present-day war as told by an Israeli commando officer The persona of the Israeli officer who strives for absolute victory is well reflected in Capt. Elkana Cohen's new book —Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Elkana Cohen tells the story of thousands of young reservists who dropped everything on 10/7 and went out to defend our nation —Naftali Bennett, thirteenth Prime Minister of Israel On the morning of October 7, 2023, Israelis awoke to a harrowing reality. Not only were hundreds of rockets being launched from Gaza into Israeli population centers, but the security border between Gaza and Israel had also been breached by several thousand Hamas terrorists. Carnage, not seen since the Second World War, ensued. Elkana Cohen, Captain of an Elite Commando Unit was called, along with thousands of other reservists, to prepare for war. One that will have to ensure nothing less than Israel’s survival. In notebooks he found on the ground in the streets of Gaza, Cohen began writing a diary. Every day, he candidly documented the sights of the war. From an honest, precise and fluid first-person perspective, Cohen presents the feeling and story of the war from the eyes of the heroes who were the dust, the sweat, the brotherhood, the longing, and the awful smell of death and destruction. Cohen’s writing poignantly describes his relationships with his fellow comrades, the mass arrests of terrorists, the homes of Hamas members, the story of the fallen soldiers, and the desperate hope to bring the hundreds of Israeli hostages home. Why did the prisoner from Jabaliya reveal to IDF soldiers that he had millions of shekels hidden in his house? What's on the Hamas terrorists’ GoPro cameras? Why did the author feel sick every time he ate meat? How did the soldiers behave when the terrorist they were following went up to the roof of a building with a baby in his arms? OCT 7 is not only the story of one Israeli officer, but it is also the narrative of an entire nation. A nation that stepped up without a moment's hesitation to face an existential challenge with a sense of purpose and mission.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 7, 2024
94 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 30, 2025
Captain Elkana “Kuno” Cohen’s war diary is a searing, unfiltered account of Israel’s just war against the genocidal Hamas regime. In the wake of the October 7th massacre—when Hamas terrorists stormed across the Gaza border to murder, mutilate, rape, and kidnap civilians—Cohen drops everything to rejoin his old commando unit.
What follows is an odyssey through the Gaza Strip, marked by firefights, tunnel searches, and heart-pounding close calls. Cohen describes stepping into homes rigged with explosives, finding terrorist manuals and weapons in schools and living rooms, and identifying a blood-soaked Hamas vehicle used in the invasion.
The depravity of Hamas is laid bare: a school textbook teaches children to erase Israel from the map; homes double as rocket labs; and entire neighborhoods are death traps laced with IEDs, booby-trapped toys, and civilian shields.
Cohen doesn’t sanitize the brutality—he confronts it. One house harbored a massive IED beneath a bed, intended to detonate during an IDF sweep. Another held improvised weapons stashed among Qur’ans and olive oil jugs. He and his team discover a Hamas ambush site beside a kindergarten.
In an especially haunting scene, they stumble across a seemingly innocent white truck, streaked with blood—it turns out to be a Hamas death van used during the slaughter of Israeli civilians on October 7th. Through these horrors, the book exposes Hamas not as a political entity but as a barbaric cult of death, a jihadist gang that weaponizes both human life and human suffering.
Cohen’s tone is one of righteous fury tempered by duty, grounded in the IDF’s moral code: “We will destroy Hamas,” he writes, “not for revenge, but for the sake of life itself.”
This is no ordinary war memoir—it is a Zionist manifesto forged in the fires of battle. Cohen reminds us that Israel’s war is not just about borders, but about civilization versus savagery. With eloquence and raw honesty, he defends the IDF’s moral high ground while condemning Hamas as “a death machine embedded in a civilian maze.”
He calls for a new Israeli renaissance, built not on vengeance but on vigilance, courage, and moral clarity. If Ben-Gurion gave birth to the State of Israel, Cohen shows how his grandchildren fight to preserve it. Zionism is not only alive—it is bulletproof. And in the face of the darkness Hamas unleashed, it is the light of Israel that still burns brightest.
What follows is an odyssey through the Gaza Strip, marked by firefights, tunnel searches, and heart-pounding close calls. Cohen describes stepping into homes rigged with explosives, finding terrorist manuals and weapons in schools and living rooms, and identifying a blood-soaked Hamas vehicle used in the invasion.
The depravity of Hamas is laid bare: a school textbook teaches children to erase Israel from the map; homes double as rocket labs; and entire neighborhoods are death traps laced with IEDs, booby-trapped toys, and civilian shields.
Cohen doesn’t sanitize the brutality—he confronts it. One house harbored a massive IED beneath a bed, intended to detonate during an IDF sweep. Another held improvised weapons stashed among Qur’ans and olive oil jugs. He and his team discover a Hamas ambush site beside a kindergarten.
In an especially haunting scene, they stumble across a seemingly innocent white truck, streaked with blood—it turns out to be a Hamas death van used during the slaughter of Israeli civilians on October 7th. Through these horrors, the book exposes Hamas not as a political entity but as a barbaric cult of death, a jihadist gang that weaponizes both human life and human suffering.
Cohen’s tone is one of righteous fury tempered by duty, grounded in the IDF’s moral code: “We will destroy Hamas,” he writes, “not for revenge, but for the sake of life itself.”
This is no ordinary war memoir—it is a Zionist manifesto forged in the fires of battle. Cohen reminds us that Israel’s war is not just about borders, but about civilization versus savagery. With eloquence and raw honesty, he defends the IDF’s moral high ground while condemning Hamas as “a death machine embedded in a civilian maze.”
He calls for a new Israeli renaissance, built not on vengeance but on vigilance, courage, and moral clarity. If Ben-Gurion gave birth to the State of Israel, Cohen shows how his grandchildren fight to preserve it. Zionism is not only alive—it is bulletproof. And in the face of the darkness Hamas unleashed, it is the light of Israel that still burns brightest.
March 7, 2025
What the news shows us is not what is actually happening. This soldier tells his story and it is as accurate portrayal of events as possible.
If you want to understand then read this.
Very hard not to admire the soldiers and their camradarie, professionalism, devotion to their and and people and sheer guts.
If you want to understand then read this.
Very hard not to admire the soldiers and their camradarie, professionalism, devotion to their and and people and sheer guts.
July 25, 2025
I am glad to have read this. I have been in the staccato process of reading Amir Tibon's, "Gates of Gaza" for the past 8 months, since December 2024, and am finding it a painful and difficult read. For Capt. Elkana Kuno Cohen, less so.
This is the story of a reserve soldier who served in Gaza in an infantry unit primarily devoted to demolitions from October to December 2023. It is the real time recording of his daily activity and emotional journey during this period-- redacted for general audiences and publication, I am sure.
For readers looking for a nuanced perspective on war at its immediate outset, reflections on the life (at time of writing) of a soldier, military strategy, geopolitics, history of the region, information and opinions on governments and society, etc., you will not find it here. It does encompass a devotion to family, heritage, and nation.
Audiobook:
Although this book should have been on my radar for its high readership in Israel, I actually found it because I am discovering Neil Shah to be such a gifted and prolific audiobook performer that I am going down his list of books and reading as many as I can.
This is the story of a reserve soldier who served in Gaza in an infantry unit primarily devoted to demolitions from October to December 2023. It is the real time recording of his daily activity and emotional journey during this period-- redacted for general audiences and publication, I am sure.
For readers looking for a nuanced perspective on war at its immediate outset, reflections on the life (at time of writing) of a soldier, military strategy, geopolitics, history of the region, information and opinions on governments and society, etc., you will not find it here. It does encompass a devotion to family, heritage, and nation.
Audiobook:
Although this book should have been on my radar for its high readership in Israel, I actually found it because I am discovering Neil Shah to be such a gifted and prolific audiobook performer that I am going down his list of books and reading as many as I can.
January 7, 2025
This was a pretty boring telling of an otherwise incredibly interesting period of warfare.
May 22, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Gripping and Personal Account of Modern Warfare
Capt. Elkana (Kuno) Cohen’s OCT 7 offers a compelling first-person narrative of the harrowing events following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. As a reserve commando officer, Cohen provides an unfiltered glimpse into the chaos, camaraderie, and resilience experienced by Israeli soldiers during this critical period.
The book stands out for its raw honesty and emotional depth. Cohen’s diary entries, penned amidst the turmoil, capture the visceral realities of war—the dust, the sweat, the brotherhood, and the haunting aftermath of each engagement. His reflections on the complexities of combat, including encounters with civilians and the moral dilemmas faced on the battlefield, add layers of nuance to the narrative.
However, the memoir’s intense focus on personal experiences may leave readers seeking a broader strategic context wanting more. While the detailed accounts of daily life in a war zone are immersive, a deeper exploration of the overarching military objectives and geopolitical implications could have enriched the narrative.
In conclusion, OCT 7 is a poignant and thought-provoking read that humanizes the soldiers behind the headlines. Cohen’s candid storytelling provides valuable insights into the personal toll of conflict, making it a recommended read for those interested in contemporary military history and personal narratives of war.
Capt. Elkana (Kuno) Cohen’s OCT 7 offers a compelling first-person narrative of the harrowing events following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. As a reserve commando officer, Cohen provides an unfiltered glimpse into the chaos, camaraderie, and resilience experienced by Israeli soldiers during this critical period.
The book stands out for its raw honesty and emotional depth. Cohen’s diary entries, penned amidst the turmoil, capture the visceral realities of war—the dust, the sweat, the brotherhood, and the haunting aftermath of each engagement. His reflections on the complexities of combat, including encounters with civilians and the moral dilemmas faced on the battlefield, add layers of nuance to the narrative.
However, the memoir’s intense focus on personal experiences may leave readers seeking a broader strategic context wanting more. While the detailed accounts of daily life in a war zone are immersive, a deeper exploration of the overarching military objectives and geopolitical implications could have enriched the narrative.
In conclusion, OCT 7 is a poignant and thought-provoking read that humanizes the soldiers behind the headlines. Cohen’s candid storytelling provides valuable insights into the personal toll of conflict, making it a recommended read for those interested in contemporary military history and personal narratives of war.
February 4, 2025
This is the kind of book that pro-Palestinians will hate and pro-Israelis will adore. It presents the perspective of an Israeli commando officer on the war against Hamas, which naturally makes it more appealing to those who support Israel's actions in Gaza.
There were some interesting insights into the lives of soldiers during the war in Gaza. The book humanizes the events, offering personal anecdotes and behind-the-scenes details that help the reader understand the emotions, challenges and daily struggles of those on the ground.
However, overall, I found it quite uneventful and even boring. While the subject matter is intense, the book doesn’t always deliver a gripping narrative. The pacing feels slow at times and the storytelling lacks the kind of tension or depth that would make it truly compelling.
In the end, it's a book that will likely be read through the lens of one's political stance rather than for its literary qualities.
There were some interesting insights into the lives of soldiers during the war in Gaza. The book humanizes the events, offering personal anecdotes and behind-the-scenes details that help the reader understand the emotions, challenges and daily struggles of those on the ground.
However, overall, I found it quite uneventful and even boring. While the subject matter is intense, the book doesn’t always deliver a gripping narrative. The pacing feels slow at times and the storytelling lacks the kind of tension or depth that would make it truly compelling.
In the end, it's a book that will likely be read through the lens of one's political stance rather than for its literary qualities.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews