Israel on Wednesday marked three years since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack — the deadliest day in the country's history — with memorial events held under a fragile ceasefire and just weeks before a general election.
About 1,200 people were killed in the assault, according to official Israeli figures cited in an AFP tally that puts the toll at 1,221, while militants dragged 251 hostages into Gaza. Israel's subsequent military campaign has killed over 74,000 people in Gaza, according to health authorities there.
A day of remembrance
A tribute was held at 06:29 a.m. — the exact time the attack began three years ago — at Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the Gaza border, where militants killed 64 residents and abducted 18 people. Israelis also gathered for a vigil at the site of the Nova music festival in southern Israel, where militants killed hundreds of young people — more than 370 according to AFP, 348 per Deccan Herald's account — and seized dozens of hostages. Bereaved families organised a further gathering in a Tel Aviv park in the evening, alongside a commemorative event at Hostage Square.
The commemorations took place under heightened security, a week after authorities foiled an attack on a Tel Aviv-bound passenger plane.
Firsts and a looming election
This is the first anniversary observed under a ceasefire — the US-mediated deal of October 10, 2025 — though it has failed to stop Israeli strikes in Gaza or secure the disarmament of Hamas and other militant groups. The deal left Israel in control of about 53% of Gaza, since expanded to nearly two-thirds, with Hamas holding the remaining third where most of the territory's two million people live in tents and bombed-out buildings.
It is also the first anniversary with no hostages held in Gaza: those dead and alive were exchanged with Hamas for Palestinians held in Israeli jails, and the remains of the last Israeli hostage were recovered in January.
The anniversary comes only 20 days before Israel's first election since the attack, a vote widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's long tenure. Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected blame for the security lapse and resisted calls for an independent investigation, drawing frustration from many Israelis, including families of those killed.
Sources: Deccan Herald — Israelis mark 3 years of October 7 attack that triggered assault on Gaza | Malay Mail — Israel marks October 7 anniversary under ceasefire — and weeks before election
About 1,200 people were killed in the assault, according to official Israeli figures cited in an AFP tally that puts the toll at 1,221, while militants dragged 251 hostages into Gaza. Israel's subsequent military campaign has killed over 74,000 people in Gaza, according to health authorities there.
A day of remembrance
A tribute was held at 06:29 a.m. — the exact time the attack began three years ago — at Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the Gaza border, where militants killed 64 residents and abducted 18 people. Israelis also gathered for a vigil at the site of the Nova music festival in southern Israel, where militants killed hundreds of young people — more than 370 according to AFP, 348 per Deccan Herald's account — and seized dozens of hostages. Bereaved families organised a further gathering in a Tel Aviv park in the evening, alongside a commemorative event at Hostage Square.
The commemorations took place under heightened security, a week after authorities foiled an attack on a Tel Aviv-bound passenger plane.
Firsts and a looming election
This is the first anniversary observed under a ceasefire — the US-mediated deal of October 10, 2025 — though it has failed to stop Israeli strikes in Gaza or secure the disarmament of Hamas and other militant groups. The deal left Israel in control of about 53% of Gaza, since expanded to nearly two-thirds, with Hamas holding the remaining third where most of the territory's two million people live in tents and bombed-out buildings.
It is also the first anniversary with no hostages held in Gaza: those dead and alive were exchanged with Hamas for Palestinians held in Israeli jails, and the remains of the last Israeli hostage were recovered in January.
The anniversary comes only 20 days before Israel's first election since the attack, a vote widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's long tenure. Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected blame for the security lapse and resisted calls for an independent investigation, drawing frustration from many Israelis, including families of those killed.
Sources: Deccan Herald — Israelis mark 3 years of October 7 attack that triggered assault on Gaza | Malay Mail — Israel marks October 7 anniversary under ceasefire — and weeks before election
