REIM, Israel — Israelis gathered Wednesday to mark three years since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 people, saw 251 taken hostage and set off a war that has left much of Gaza in ruins, the Associated Press reported via NPR. It is the first anniversary since all the hostages, living and dead, were returned.
At the Nova music festival site near Reim, where more than 350 people were killed, relatives hugged at 6:29 a.m., the minute the first rockets were launched three years ago, as explosions boomed in nearby Gaza. “I have a video of him dancing here that ends at 6:29 in the morning, it’s in front of my eyes all the time,” said Anya Davitashili, whose 25-year-old son, Sean, was killed. Elkana Bohbot, freed after 738 days in captivity, marked the day in Israel for the first time.
At Kibbutz Nir Oz, a mile from the Gaza border, 41 residents and foreign workers were killed and 76 people were taken to Gaza, BBC News reported. “That’s one out of four of us: murdered or kidnapped,” resident Dalit Ram Aharon said. The anniversary comes as Israelis absorb reports in Israeli and U.S. media that regional allies warned Israel beforehand; a senior Egyptian official told NPR that Egypt’s then-intelligence chief had relayed a warning that Gaza was on the verge of an “explosion.”
For Palestinians, the day brought no relief. Most of Gaza’s roughly 2 million people live in tent camps, more than half the territory remains under Israeli military control, and Israeli strikes continue almost daily despite a ceasefire reached nearly a year ago, AP reported. Hamas praised the attack in a statement. “We witnessed death, destruction, and bombardment that we had never known before,” said Gaza City resident Walid Akram.
Sources: Associated Press (via NPR), BBC News, NPR
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