A one-minute siren sounded across Tel Aviv on Wednesday as Israelis marked three years since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023. Israeli figures say the assault killed around 1,200 people and left 251 others taken hostage. A UN inquiry confirmed 1,200 deaths and counted 252 hostages.
The mood was sombre, and openly angry in places. People gathered along Tel Aviv's beach with photographs of the dead. Nearby, an art installation spelled out a single word in large letters: “Failure.” Some Israelis renewed their calls for an independent inquiry into how the attacks were allowed to happen.
A Nation Pauses
A group representing bereaved families organised the day's tributes. They included a moment of silence at 6:29 a.m., the minute the assault began, and an evening ceremony in Tel Aviv. In southern Israel, families gathered at road junctions, bomb shelters and the Nova music festival site, places militants overran in what the report called the deadliest attack against Israel.
At Nova, Hamas militants in trucks and paragliders opened fire around dawn. Relatives bowed their heads in silence. AFP reported that at least one person played techno music in tribute to the fallen.
This was the first anniversary on which all surviving hostages had come home, bringing what the report called a new phase of mourning. Elkana Bohbot, 37, abducted from the Nova festival, was in Israel for the anniversary for the first time. He returned last year after 738 days in captivity, most of it in a tunnel 50 metres underground. His daughter was born in August this year. He called that birth his message to his captors: “we [Israelis] were here, and we will always be here forever.”
Accountability at Home
Wednesday's gatherings stood apart from the government's official memorial services, which it held on 5 October to fall closer to the anniversary in the Hebrew calendar. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “no forgiveness for the murderers” and promised never to allow Hamas to rule in Gaza.
The demand for answers hasn't faded. More than 200 former hostages and relatives wrote to Netanyahu last year, demanding an inquiry into the attacks or his resignation. He didn't launch one. Instead, he published redacted government documents and described the attacks as “a serious intelligence failure.” An election is due at the end of the month.
The European Response
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen paid tribute to the 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.”
The ceasefire took effect last October, two years into the war Israel launched against Hamas. It remains fragile. AFP reporters heard loud bangs from across the border in Gaza during the commemorations as Israel carried out new strikes. Gaza officials said overnight strikes killed at least two people.
The territory lies largely in 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 Israeli troops controlling more than half of the Gaza Strip.
Why This Matters:
The anniversary falls on two fronts that matter to Europe. First, security: the attack showed how quickly a state's defences can fail, and the Israeli public's demand for an independent inquiry reminds us that democratic accountability doesn't end when a crisis does. Second, Brussels' role. Von der Leyen's pledge to help turn a fragile ceasefire into lasting peace is an ambitious commitment. With strikes continuing and more than half of Gaza under Israeli military control, it carries real diplomatic and potentially financial obligations for member states. Whether the EU can deliver on that promise, or whether capitals will want a say in what it commits to, is a question national governments will increasingly face.