Israel Marks Oct. 7 Anniversary Under Escalating war

Israelis on Monday marked the first anniversary of the devastating Hamas attack that triggered a war that has sparked protest worldwide and risks igniting a far wider conflict in the Middle East.

Ceremonies and protests in Jerusalem and Israel’s south began around 06:29 a.m. (0329 GMT), the hour when Hamas-led militants launched rockets into Israel at the start of the Oct. 7 attack last year.

They killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli figures.

Her son Watchara Sriaoun is one of six Thais believed to be still held captive by Hamas since the Israel-Hamas conflict that began on October 7, 2023.

Outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Jerusalem, around 300 people led by families of hostages holding up photos of their loved ones, observed a minute of silence for the dead as a siren sounded.

“We’re still stuck in October 7th, 2023, in one unending day of terror, of fear, of anger, of despair,” said Yuval Baron, whose father-in-law Keith Siegel is hostage in Gaza.

“We wanted to start this day together to remind ourselves, our prime minister, the public of Israel that even though it is a day of grief there is still a holy mission to bring back the hostages,” said Baron.

In Reim, the site of the music festival where more than 360 people were killed and dozens taken hostage, President Isaac Herzog presided over the memorial ceremony which began with the last track that was played at the party a year ago.

“We will remember always who kidnapped, who murdered, who raped, who slaughtered. At the same time, we have also seen extraordinary fortitude. We have wonderful people, and on this day, we strengthen it and call for unity,” said Herzog.
Ceremonies were to take place at kibbutz villages and towns near the border throughout the day.

High Alert
Security forces were on high alert across the country on Monday, the military and police said, anticipating possible Palestinian attacks planned for the anniversary of Oct. 7, 2023, when the worst bloodletting in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict began.

Movement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank was further hampered as many checkpoints shut down, residents said, and some Palestinians with entry permits received notices on their mobile phones saying they will not be allowed into Israel on Monday.

In Gaza, the Israeli military said its aircraft foiled a rocket attack planned by Hamas.

The Hamas attack on Israeli communities around Gaza and Israel’s relentless campaign in response have destabilised the Middle East while the scale of the killing and destruction have horrified people worldwide.

Reuters/Shakirat Sadiq