Aisha Tukur
Israel has held ceremonies to remember the victims of the mass killings and abductions carried out by Hamas on 7 October 2023, against a backdrop of continuing fighting in Gaza and Lebanon.
A year on from the attack – that saw some 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage – Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to stop such an assault happening again, saying Israel’s armed forces were “changing the security reality” of the region.
The conflict which followed Hamas’s attack has seen almost 42,000 deaths in the Gaza Strip according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
As the day of commemorations unfolded, Israel said it intercepted more than 100 rockets fired by Hezbollah in Lebanon as well as projectiles launched by Yemen’s Houthis and from Hamas in Gaza.
Last October, gunmen from Hamas broke through the border fence and rampaged through nearby Israeli villages, Kibbutzim, military posts and the Nova music festival.
On Monday, families of the hundreds killed and dozens of people taken hostage at the festival gathered at the site early for the first memorial event of the day.
Holding pictures of loved ones they listened to the last track played at the festival before Israeli President Isaac Herzog led a minute’s silence at 06:29, the moment that the attack began
In nearby communities which were also attacked by Hamas gunmen, smaller events were held.
Elsewhere, Netanyahu visited the Iron Sword memorial in Jerusalem for victims of the Hamas attacks, lighting a candle to “remember our fallen, our hostages”.
In Tel Aviv’s biggest park, Israeli families gathered in for an event billed as the Bereaved Families Memorial Ceremony, which served as an alternative to the official government memorial ceremony.
Some of Israel’s most popular singers gave emotional performances, while the images of victims flashed on the screens.
The stage was adorned with items symbolising the attacks including burnt and broken cars from the Nova music festival; a child’s bicycle and swing set from the Be’eri kibbutz.
Outside of Israel, President Biden joined other world leaders in condemning what he called the “unspeakable brutality” of the Hamas attacks a year ago.
He also expressed horror at the subsequent war, saying “far too many civilians had suffered, far too much”.
Mourners also gathered at vigils around the world including in Australia, South Africa, Germany and the United States.
In the UK, Sir Keir Starmer told the House of Commons he supported Israel’s right to defend itself. But Britain’s prime minister insisted there was no military solution to the current crisis and appealed for all sides to “step back”.
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