Israel on Monday began marking the one-year anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants, which claimed more than 1,200 lives.
Commemorations across the country saw emotional vigils at massacre sites and rallies calling for the return of hostages still held in Gaza.
The anniversary began at 6:29 a.m., the moment the attack started, with President Isaac Herzog leading a moment of silence at Kibbutz Reim, one of the hardest-hit areas.
The Nova music festival, held at the kibbutz, witnessed the massacre of at least 370 people by heavily armed Hamas fighters, making it the deadliest attack of that tragic day.
Many families of those killed attended the memorial, deeply emotional and grieving. Herzog met with them during the ceremony.
“Coming to this event one year after this terrible massacre, it’s very touching,” said Solly Laniado, the organizer of a separate memorial in Tel Aviv to honor the victims of the Nova attack.
The attack by Hamas involved thousands of rockets launched toward Israeli communities near the Gaza border, while militants stormed across the border, attacking around 50 sites, including homes, army bases, and the music festival. The death toll and the level of violence shocked the nation and the world.
On Sunday, before the anniversary, tens of thousands of people gathered at memorial events worldwide. Many mourned the victims while others voiced support for Palestinians, as the conflict in Gaza continues to devastate lives on both sides.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to crush Hamas, and the Israeli army continues its military operations in Gaza. Netanyahu, speaking on Sunday, said: “A year ago, we suffered a terrible blow. Over the past 12 months, we have completely transformed reality.”
In addition to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Israel is also engaged in military action against Hezbollah, Hamas’s ally in Lebanon, after recent escalations. There have been routine rocket attacks from Lebanon into northern Israel, and airstrikes on Lebanon by Israeli forces.
The war has displaced millions, and in Gaza, over 41,000 people have been killed, many of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry. As the conflict marks its first anniversary, families on both sides continue to mourn their losses, and the region remains gripped by violence.
For some, like 51-year-old Mona Abu Nahl in Gaza, the year has been marked by unimaginable suffering. “If I had known that the war would last a whole year, I would never have moved from northern Gaza. I would have put a tent over my destroyed house and sat down, rather than endure this humiliation, hunger, and displacement,” she said.
The first anniversary of the attack comes as Israel continues to prepare for more potential conflict, particularly with Iran, after recent missile exchanges following the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and an Iranian general in Israeli strikes on Beirut.
