Israelis marked the third anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks with a one-minute siren in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, as new Israeli strikes hit Gaza despite a ceasefire agreement. The day brought two realities together: families mourning those killed and taken hostage, and Palestinians still living with the consequences of Israel’s military campaign.
Israeli figures put the death toll at around 1,200, with 251 people taken hostage. A UN inquiry confirmed 1,200 deaths and 252 people taken hostage. The figures differ on the number abducted, but both accounts describe the scale of the violence that began the day Israel now commemorates.
A memorial, and a demand for answers
People gathered along Tel Aviv’s beach, holding photographs of those killed. Nearby, an art installation for victims and hostages bore one word in large letters: “Failure.” Some Israelis renewed calls for an independent inquiry into the attacks. The government held its official memorial services on 5 October, closer to the anniversary in the Hebrew calendar; Wednesday’s gatherings were separate.
A group representing bereaved families organised tributes, including a moment of silence at 6:29 a.m., when the attack began, and a ceremony scheduled for that night in Tel Aviv. In southern Israel, families mourned at road junctions, bomb shelters and the Nova music festival site, where militants overran the area. At Nova, family members bowed their heads in silence. AFP reported that at least one person played techno music in tribute to the fallen.
Elkana Bohbot, 37, was at Nova when militants abducted him. He spent 738 days in captivity before his release last year, most of that time in a tunnel 50 metres underground, and returned to Israel for the anniversary for the first time. His daughter was born in August this year. He described her birth as his message to his captors: “we [Israelis] were here, and we will always be here forever”.
More than 200 former hostages and relatives wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year, demanding an inquiry into the attacks or his resignation. Netanyahu didn’t launch an investigation. Instead, he published redacted government documents and called the attacks “a serious intelligence failure”. He vowed there would be “no forgiveness for the murderers” and promised never to allow Hamas to rule in Gaza. An election was due at the end of the month. The demand for an independent inquiry remains part of the public mourning.
Ceasefire words, strikes on the ground
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen paid tribute to victims and their families in a post on X. “The unspeakable savagery and terror of 7 October must never happen again,” she wrote. “The EU remains ready to help turn today's fragile ceasefire into a durable peace, based on a two-state solution.” That ceasefire took effect last October, two years into the war Israel launched against Hamas in response to the attack.
Yet AFP reporters heard loud bangs from across the border in Gaza as Israel carried out new strikes despite the ceasefire agreement. Gaza officials said at least two people were killed in overnight strikes. The ceasefire is described as fragile, while renewed attacks leave people in Gaza facing the consequences.
Israel’s campaign had reduced the territory largely to rubble. The UN said up to 75,000 Palestinians had been killed in the retaliatory campaign. This summer, it said about 1.7 million Palestinians, roughly 80% of the population, were living in tents and temporary accommodation. Israeli maps showed more than half of the Gaza Strip under the control of Israeli troops.
The memorials gave families room to grieve and renewed calls to investigate the state’s intelligence failure. Beyond the ceremonies, reports from Gaza recorded fresh strikes, deaths and displacement. Official promises of peace and security rang out alongside the sound of attacks that haven’t stopped.