Israelis gathered on Wednesday to commemorate the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people, took 251 hostage and triggered a devastating war in Gaza that left much of Gaza in ruins and 2 million people living in misery.
In southern Israel, families mourned at intersections, bomb shelters and music festivals that militants overran in the deadliest attack on Israel three years ago. It’s the one-year anniversary of all the hostages returning home, marking a new phase of grief.
For Palestinians, the anniversary brings another day of pain and difficulty after Israeli retaliatory actions in Gaza killed tens of thousands.
Most of the roughly 2 million people live in huge, squalid tent camps, and much of the belt’s cities are in ruins. More than half of the territory remains in the hands of the Israeli military. Although a ceasefire was agreed nearly a year ago, Israeli attacks continue on an almost daily basis.
For the region, the day highlighted the stunning transformation that has taken place over the past three years.
Israeli forces have seized large swathes of southern Lebanon in a conflict with the Hezbollah militant group, which began firing on Israel in 2023 in support of Hamas. Iran and the United States are locked in a confrontation that has hit Gulf Arab states and shaken the global economy — a conflict that Israel helped start and that the Gaza war paved the way for, although they are not directly linked.
Family mourns at Nova Day site
In the small town of Rem, which was hosting a music festival on the day of the attack, families gathered in front of photos of their dead relatives. At 6:29 a.m., the time when the first rocket was launched three years ago, they embraced and heard the roar of explosions in nearby Gaza.
Anya Davitashili, who lost her 25-year-old son Sean, said she came to the site every Saturday because it was the place she felt closest to her son.
“I have a video of him dancing here, and it was in front of my eyes until it ended at 6:29 in the morning,” she said. “Every morning you wake up to an endless amount of thoughts.”
Hundreds of people came to pay their respects to the more than 350 people killed at the festival and surrounding areas.
Ariel Shalit/AP Photo
Ariel Shalit/AP Photo People attend a memorial service to mark the third anniversary of the Hamas cross-border attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in Kibbutz Kfar Azah, southern Israel, Wednesday, October 7, 2026, in which many community members were killed and kidnapped.
On October 7, a hostage was released for the first time
Elkana Bohbot, 37, was released last year after 738 days in captivity and marked the anniversary for the first time in Israel. He said he spent much of that time locked in a dark, dank tunnel 165 feet underground.
Bobote was kidnapped during the festival and was kept in a small cell with other hostages, given little food and allowed to shower only once every few weeks, he said. His kidnappers forced him to take part in several propaganda videos, including one in which he pretended to make phone calls to his family.
In the 11 months since his release, Bobote has undergone physical and mental recovery. In August, his wife Rivka gave birth to a daughter, fulfilling the promise Bohbot made to himself in the tunnel to give birth to a sibling for his 5-year-old son Reem.
Bobbot told The Associated Press that the new Michelle Obama “is not a symbol of my people, she is more of a symbol of the enemy.” “So the message this kid is giving you is that we were here and we will always be here.”
Ohard Zweigenberg/AP Photo
Ohard Zweigenberg/AP Photo Benny and Maggy Solomon, parents of Hila Solomon, who was killed in a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, attend an event at the Nova Memorial Live Music Festival near Kibbutz Rem in southern Israel on Wednesday, October 7, 2026.
In Gaza, Palestinians struggle to recover
No incidents were expected on Wednesday in Gaza, where Israel’s offensive has wreaked havoc in the area and displaced about 90 percent of the population, often multiple times. Restrictions on the entry of goods and aid have led to a severe hunger crisis.
More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the region’s health ministry, which did not distinguish between civilians and militants in the data but said about half were women and children. Data from the sector, which is part of the Hamas government, is considered generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.
Although a ceasefire that took effect on October 10 has halted the fiercest fighting, Israeli attacks have continued, targeting what Israel says are Hamas militants. According to the ministry, 1,460 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire. Seven Israeli soldiers were killed during this period.
Hamas described the Oct. 7 attack as a response to decades of Israeli military occupation, land grabbing and settlement building. But the Palestinian dream of an independent state seems further away.
Footage recorded from the air on Thursday showed the extent of destruction in Gaza nearly two years since the war between Israel and Hamas began.
The Middle East has undergone tremendous changes
Israel will hold a disputed election at the end of this month, setting the stage for this year’s anniversary. The government’s official memorial service was held on October 5, close to the anniversary of the attack on the Hebrew calendar.
The separate commemorations reflected deep divisions over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his handling of the war and his reluctance to launch a formal investigation into the day’s defeat.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who hopes to oust Netanyahu in Israel’s upcoming elections, looked at photos of Reem’s dead body and spoke to sobbing family members.
Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the opposition Yashar party! The party met families in a bomb shelter in southern Israel, where many were killed while trying to escape.
The attack set off a chain of events that pitted Israel against Hamas, Hezbollah and their backer Iran, leading to wars across the Middle East. Israel has occupied large tracts of territory in Syria and Lebanon, and more than 300,000 Lebanese are still displaced. The United States, along with Israel, has launched two rounds of attacks on Iran’s military and nuclear programs, severely damaging 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 encouraged extremist settlers to attack Palestinians and destroy their property.