REIM, Israel (AP) — Israelis gathered Wednesday to commemorate October 7, 2023, attack led by Hamas which killed 1,200 people, took 251 hostages and sparked a devastating war in Gaza that left much of the territory in ruins and its 2 million residents living in dire conditions.
In southern Israel, families cried at intersections, in bomb shelters and at the site of a music festival organized by the activists. exceeded three years ago in the deadliest attack against Israel. It’s the first anniversary of the return of all the hostages, mark a new milestone of sorrow.
For Palestinians, the anniversary marks another day of misery and hardship after the Israeli campaign of retaliation in Gaza that killed tens of thousands of people.
Most of the population of around 2 million live in vast, squalid tent camps, with large parts of the strip’s towns reduced to rubble. More than half of the territory remains in the hands of the Israeli army. Despite a ceasefire agreement reached almost a year ago, Israeli strikes continue almost daily.
For the region, this day highlights a surprising transformation over the past three years.
Israeli troops occupy a a large part of southern Lebanon in their conflict with the militant group Hezbollah, which began firing into Israel in 2023 in support of Hamas. Iran and the United States are engaged in a confrontation that has led to attacks in Gulf Arab countries and shaken the global economy – a conflict that Israel helped start and that the The war in Gaza paved the way because, even if they were not directly connected.
Families cry at the Nova Festival site
In Reim, the city where the music festival took place on the day of the attack, families gathered around photos of their killed loved ones. They embraced at 6:29 a.m. – the exact time the first rockets were launched three years ago – as sounds of explosions in the neighboring Gaza Strip could be heard.
Anya Davitashili, who lost her 25-year-old son Sean, said she comes to the site every Saturday because that’s when she feels closest to him.
“I have a video of him dancing here that ends at 6:29 a.m., it’s in front of my eyes all the time,” she said. “Every morning you wake up and there are endless things missing.”
Hundreds of people came to pay tribute to the more than 350 people killed on and around the festival site.
Freed hostage marks first release on October 7
Elkana Bohbot, 37, celebrates this birthday for the first time in Israel, after being released compared to 738 days of captivity last year. Most of that time, he said, he was held 50 meters underground in a dark, dank tunnel.
Bohbot, who was removed during the festivalwas held in a small cell with other hostages, given very little food and allowed to wash only every few weeks, he said. His captors forced him to participate in several propaganda videos, including one in which he simulates a fake call to his family.
In the 11 months since his release, Bohbot has followed physical and emotional rehabilitation. In August, his wife, Rivka, gave birth to a daughter, fulfilling the promise Bohbot made to himself in the tunnels to give his 5-year-old son, Reem, a sibling.
Newborn Michele is “not a symbol for my people, rather she is a symbol for the enemy,” Bohbot told the Associated Press. “So this child is the message to you that we were here and we will always be here forever.”
In Gaza, Palestinians are struggling to get back on their feet
No events are expected on Wednesday in Gaza, where the Israeli offensive has devastated the territory and displaced around 90% of its population, often several times. Restrictions on the entry of goods and aid have contributed to a serious hunger crisis.
More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its figures but says about half were women and children. Figures from the ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, are considered generally reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts.
Although the ceasefire that took effect on October 10 ended the heaviest fighting, Israeli strikes continued, targeting what Israel considers Hamas militants. Since the ceasefire, 1,460 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the ministry. Seven Israeli soldiers were killed during this period.
Hamas presented the October 7 attack as a response to decades of Israeli military occupation, land seizures and settlement construction. But the Palestinian dream of an independent state seems even more distant.
This anniversary comes to a radically changed Middle East
Controversial elections in Israel at the end of the month loom over this year’s anniversary. Official government memorial services were held on October 5, closer to the anniversary of the attack according to the Hebrew calendar.
The separate commemorations reflected deep divisions over the prime minister. Benjamin Netanyahuhis handling of the war and his reluctance to launch an official investigation into the failures of the era.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who hopes to unseat Netanyahu in Israel’s next election, looked at photos of the dead in Reim and spoke with their sobbing family members.
Gadi Eisenkot, the leader of the opposition party Yashar! party, met with families at an air raid shelter in southern Israel where many were killed as they tried to flee.
The attack triggered a cascade of events this led to wars across the Middle East as Israel faced Hamas, Hezbollah and their support Iran. Israel has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Lebanon, where more than 300,000 Lebanese remain displaced. The United States joined Israel in attacking Iran’s military and nuclear program in two rounds, hitting Iran and upending global markets far from the battlefield.
Violence has also increased in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israel’s far-right government has emboldened extremist settlers who have attacked Palestinians and destroyed their property.
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