A one-minute siren sounded in Tel Aviv on Wednesday as Israelis marked three years since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023. The attacks killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli figures. A UN inquiry confirmed 1,200 deaths and 252 people taken hostage.
A national day of remembrance
People gathered along Tel Aviv's beach, holding photographs of those killed. A nearby art installation honoured victims and hostages, with the word “Failure” displayed in large letters. Some Israelis renewed calls for an independent inquiry into the attacks.
A group representing bereaved families organised tributes, including a moment of silence at 6:29 a.m., when the attack began. A ceremony was scheduled for that night in Tel Aviv. The gatherings were separate from the government's official memorial services, which took place on 5 October to fall closer to the anniversary in the Hebrew calendar.
In southern Israel, families mourned at road junctions, bomb shelters and the Nova music festival site, locations militants overran in what the article described as the deadliest attack against Israel. At Nova, Hamas militants in trucks and paragliders opened fire around dawn on October 7. Family members bowed their heads in silence. At least one person played techno music in tribute to the fallen, AFP reported.
Survivors and the return of hostages
This marked the first anniversary on which all surviving hostages had returned home, opening a new phase of mourning. Elkana Bohbot, 37, abducted from the Nova festival, was in Israel for the anniversary for the first time. He was freed last year after 738 days in captivity, most of them in a tunnel 50 metres underground.
Bohbot said his daughter’s birth in August this year carried a message for his captors: “we [Israelis] were here, and we will always be here forever”. His account connected the commemoration with the lives of hostages who survived and returned to Israel.
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.”
Ceasefire, strikes and demands for answers
The ceasefire von der Leyen referred to took effect last October, two years into the war Israel launched against Hamas in response to the attack. AFP reporters heard loud bangs from across the border in Gaza during Wednesday's commemorations. Israel carried out new strikes despite the ceasefire agreement, and Gaza officials said at least two people were killed in overnight strikes.
The campaign reduced the territory largely to rubble. The UN said up to 75,000 Palestinians had been killed in the retaliatory campaign. This summer, the UN said about 1.7 million Palestinians, roughly 80% of the population, lived in tents and temporary accommodation. Israeli maps showed Israeli troops controlling more than half of the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed there would be “no forgiveness for the murderers” and promised never to allow Hamas to rule in Gaza. More than 200 former hostages and relatives wrote to Netanyahu last year, demanding an inquiry into the attacks or his resignation. Rather than launch an investigation, Israel's leader published redacted government documents and described the attacks as “a serious intelligence failure”. An election was due at the end of the month.