Israel marks Hamas attack as Gaza grapples with fallout
Israelis are commemorating the third anniversary of the deadliest attack on their country, while Palestinians live with the results of the war it triggered.
Israelis are gathering to commemorate the October 7, 2023, attack that killed 1200 people, saw 251 taken hostage, and sparked a devastating war in Gaza where Palestinians are suffering.
In southern Israel, families will mourn at intersections, bomb shelters, and the site of a music festival that Hamas-led militants overran three years ago in the deadliest attack against Israel.
This will be the first anniversary that all the hostages are home, marking a new stage of grief.
For Palestinians, the anniversary brings another day living with the results of Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of people.
Most of the population of about two million people live in vast, squalid tent camps, with large parts of the strip’s cities reduced to rubble.
More than half the territory remains in the hands of the Israeli military, and despite a ceasefire deal reached nearly a year ago, Israeli strikes continue almost daily.
For the region, the day highlights a startling transformation during the past three years.
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Israeli troops occupy a large chunk of southern Lebanon in their conflict with Hezbollah, which began firing on Israel in 2023 in support of Hamas.
Iran and the United States are locked in a confrontation that has seen attacks across Arab Gulf countries and has shaken the global economy – a conflict that Israel helped launch and that the Gaza war paved the way for even if they were not directly connected.
No events are expected on Wednesday in Gaza, where Israel’s offensive has devastated the narrow strip and displaced about 90 per cent of its population, often multiple times.
Restrictions on the entry of goods and aid have contributed to a severe hunger crisis.
Swathes of Gaza have been destroyed by the war and over 90 per cent of the population displaced.
More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its figures but says about half were women and children.
The numbers from the ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts.
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While a ceasefire that took effect on October 10 has halted the heaviest fighting, Israeli strikes have continued, targeting what Israel says are Hamas militants.
Since the ceasefire, 1145 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the ministry.
Seven Israeli soldiers have been killed in that period.
Hamas portrayed the October 7 attack as a response to decades of Israeli military occupation, land seizures and settlement construction.
But the Palestinians’ dream of an independent state appears even more distant.
A contentious election in Israel at the end of October hangs over the anniversary.
The government’s official memorial services took place on October 5, closer to the Hebrew-calendar anniversary of the attack.
The separate commemorations are indicative of the deep divisions over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war and his reluctance to launch an official inquiry into failings of the day.
The attack set in motion a cascade of events that led to wars across the Middle East as Israel confronted Hamas, Hezbollah and their backer Iran.
Israel has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Lebanon, where more than 300,000 Lebanese remain displaced.
The United States joined Israel in attacking Iran’s military and nuclear program in two rounds, battering Iran and upending global markets far from the battlefield.
Violence has also risen across the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israel’s far-right government has emboldened extremist settlers who have attacked Palestinians and destroyed their property.
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