Israel marked the third anniversary of Hamas'sOctober 7 attackon Wednesday with silent tributes, new strikes on Gaza and intense political debate, weeks before elections in which the country's deadliest day will be front and centre. At the site of the Nova music festival, where Hamas militants in trucks and paragliders opened fire around dawn on October 7, 2023, family members bowed their heads quietly -- although at least one instead put on techno music in tribute to the fallen. Both at Nova and the Kfar Aza kibbutz, another site of mass killings three years earlier, reporters heard loud bangs from across the border in Gaza during the commemorations as Israel carried out new strikes, despite a ceasefire officially in place for the past year.
Gaza officials said five people were killed in strikes in the territory, most of which has been reduced to rubble in relentless bombing in retaliation for the worst attack ever against Israel. At the Nova site, Katia Zohar, whose daughter Bar Zohar was killed at age 23, called the start of the attack at 6:29 am (0329 GMT) "the minute that changed our lives forever". "Sadly I remember everything," Zohar said.
"The moment she called for me to come and pick her up because there were missiles in the air. Then the second time when she called from the road, screaming that they were shooting at her." Read moreThree years on, questions remain over what Netanyahu knew before October 7 Anna Davitashvili, 53, paid tribute to her eldest son Shaun, who was killed aged 25 at Nova alongside friends, by playing the last track of techno music that the partygoers were dancing to when the attack began. I'm terribly sorry that I couldn't save him, I couldn't help him get out of this massacre," she said, tears filling her eyes.
In the evening in a Tel Aviv park, a memorial ceremony organised by survivors and bereaved families included songs, tributes and videos, drawing a crowd of several thousand. The event, broadcast across Israel's major television channels, was co-hosted by former hostage Eli Sharabi, who lost his wife and two daughters in the attack and whose brother was killed in Gaza captivity. "Tonight, we embrace the memory of those murdered and those who fell in battle, and we embrace those who were wounded and still bear the scars," he said.
Israel's main opposition candidates were in attendance, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's principal rival Gadi Eisenkot. Read moreHow Netanyahu survived the political fallout from the October 7 attacks On October 27, Israel will hold elections for the first time since the attack, with polls showing a tight race for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who in three years has ordered the massive offensive in Gaza and fought wars against Hezbollah in Lebanon as well as Iran, whose cleric-run government backs Hamas. At the Nova site, Naftali Bennett, a former prime minister seeking to oust Netanyahu, told reporters of the attack: "This was a colossal failure of the state of Israel, which was established to defend Jews in our land." The centre-left Democrats Party put online footage of the attack, without commentary.
"A government that for three years has not destroyed Hamas's rule is a government dangerous to Israel," Democrats leader Yair Golan said. "On this day, the people are united in remembrance and longing for our loved ones," he said in a statement, adding: "We will complete the mission: we are here and we will hold all the murderers to account." US President Donald Trump said he'd spoken to Netanyahu, calling October 7 "a horrible tragedy". "The other side is paying a very big price for what they did on October 7, believe me," he told reporters as he left the White House.
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