The forgotten Americans of Hamas' terrorist massacre on October 7th

Many Americans forget that 45 U.S. citizens were murdered and 12 others were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on Oct 7. 2023.

David Zimmermann recently retired from the FBI after working 25+ years in the counterterrorism arena, both domestically and abroad. Zimmermann’s last tour was in Tel Aviv as a Supervisory Special Agent from 2020 to 2024. After the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, Zimmermann led the FBI’s Israel-based wartime efforts to seek the release/return of over 250 innocent hostages held by Hamas terrorists. In January 2025, Zimmermann joined George Washington University’s Program on Extremism as a Senior Research Fellow.

Thirty-nine countries, none more so than Israel, felt the agony of their innocent citizens falling victim to Hamas’ massacre on October 7, 2023. On that day, Hamas executed one of the most brutal terror attacks globally since September 11, 2001. America did not escape unscathed; dozens of American families were forever broken that day when they experienced the heartbreak of a death notification or news that their loved one was kidnapped by terrorists. On that mournful Saturday in 2023, 45 Americans were murdered, and 12 Americans were kidnapped. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of the FBI or any other government agency.

As an active-duty FBI agent stationed in Israel from 2020 to 2024, I witnessed firsthand how the tragedy of October 7th impacted American families. U.S. law designates the FBI as the lead agency for investigations into Americans killed or injured in a terrorist attack anywhere in the world and a Presidential Policy Directive designates the FBI as lead agency for investigations dealing with kidnapped Americans anywhere in the world.