Israel marked the third anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Wednesday with silent tributes, renewed airstrikes on Gaza, and political tension ahead of elections in less than three weeks.
At the Nova music festival site, where Hamas militants killed 378 people three years ago, families gathered in quiet remembrance. Some played techno music in tribute to the fallen, while others, like Katia Zohar, recalled the final moments of loved ones lost. “The minute that changed our lives forever” began at 6:29 a.m., Zohar said, describing her daughter Bar’s frantic calls as militants closed in .
In Kfar Aza, a kibbutz overrun by Hamas that day, residents held a vigil as a trumpet played a solemn bugle call. Zion Regev, a community leader, said most residents remain displaced, with the trauma of October 7 still shaping their lives. “This is the first time we are doing all the things here in the kibbutz,” Regev said. “It’s a very emotional day, a very difficult day for our community” .
Gaza officials reported five deaths in Israeli strikes on Wednesday, despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in place for the past year. The strikes came as Israelis demanded accountability for the security failures of October 7, with protesters outside parliament in Jerusalem blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for refusing an independent inquiry. Some held signs reading, “The people will remember October 7 on October 27,” referencing the upcoming election .
In Tel Aviv’s HaYarkon Park, a memorial ceremony drew thousands, where Omri Shifroni, whose twin niece and nephew died in the attack, called for an independent investigation. “Without an investigation, we cannot heal,” Shifroni said. “Otherwise, we cannot be sure it will never happen again” .
