Israel marked the second anniversary of the 7 October 2023 attack on Tuesday, as Hamas and Israeli negotiators hold indirect talks aimed at ending the two-year war in Gaza under a U.S.-proposed peace plan.
Exactly two years ago, at the close of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, Hamas-led militants launched a massive assault on Israel, the deadliest day in the nation’s history.
Palestinian fighters breached the Gaza-Israel border, storming southern Israeli communities and a desert music festival with gunfire, rockets, and grenades.
The attack killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Militants also took 251 hostages into Gaza, of whom 47 remain captive, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.
Memorial events were held across Israel on Tuesday. Dozens of relatives and friends of those killed at the Nova music festival lit candles and observed a minute of silence at the site of the attack, where militants killed more than 370 people and took dozens hostage.
Orit Baron, whose daughter Yuval and her fiancé Moshe Shuva were killed at the festival, described the day as a “black” date for her family.
“Now it’s two years. And I’m here to be with her, because this is the last time that she was alive,” said the 57-year-old mother, adding she felt “that right now she’s with me here.”
Another ceremony was scheduled at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, where weekly rallies continue to press for the release of hostages. A state-organized commemoration is planned for 16 October, following the Sukkot holidays.
‘Lost Everything’
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, by air, land, and sea, has killed at least 67,160 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, a figure the United Nations considers credible.
The statistics do not distinguish civilians from combatants but indicate more than half of the dead are women and children.
Entire neighborhoods have been flattened, with homes, hospitals, schools, and water networks destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans now shelter in overcrowded camps and open areas with little access to food, water, or sanitation.
“We have lost everything in this war, our homes, family members, friends, neighbours,” said 36-year-old Hanan Mohammed, displaced from Jabalia. “I can’t wait for a ceasefire to be announced and for this endless bloodshed and death to stop … there is nothing left but destruction.”
A recent survey by the Institute for National Security Studies found that 72% of Israelis were dissatisfied with the government’s handling of the war.
Over the course of the war, Israel has expanded its military operations, striking targets in five regional countries, including Iran, and killing several senior Hamas figures and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Both Israel and Hamas now face increasing international pressure to end the war.
A United Nations investigation last month accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, while rights groups accused Hamas of war crimes over the 7 October attack. Both sides reject the allegations.
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a 20-point plan calling for a ceasefire, the release of all hostages, Hamas’s disarmament, and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Indirect talks began Monday in Egypt’s resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh, with mediators shuttling between delegations under tight security. Al-Qahera News, linked to Egyptian state intelligence, reported that discussions focused on “preparing ground conditions” for a hostage-prisoner exchange.
A Palestinian source close to Hamas negotiators said the talks, which began on the eve of the 7 October anniversary, may last several days. Trump urged negotiators to “move fast” to end the conflict in Gaza, where Israeli strikes continued Monday.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military said it detected a projectile fired from Gaza, with no injuries reported. Trump told Newsmax TV: “I think we’re very, very close to having a deal … I think there’s a lot of goodwill being shown now. It’s pretty amazing actually.”
While both sides welcomed Trump’s plan, finalizing its details is expected to be a significant challenge. Two earlier truces in the war allowed for the release of dozens of hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners but did not establish a permanent ceasefire or the disarmament of Hamas.
Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir warned that if negotiations fail, the army will “return to fighting” in Gaza.
