On October 7, on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, the relatives of some of the victims held a commemorative ceremony.
On October 7, Hamas 'massive attack on Israel triggered the second anniversary of the Gaza War.
Thousands of people gathered in southern Israel on Tuesday to mourn the more than 1,200 dead in Hamas's attack two years ago, the more than 200 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli soldiers and security personnel who died in the two-year Gaza war since then.
The main commemoration in the Israeli capital, Tel Aviv, was organized by the families of the victims and held separately from the government's anniversary ceremony next week in accordance with the Hebrew calendar. This disagreement reflects the deep differences among the Israeli people over the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Many accuse the hardline Israeli leader of failing to broker a ceasefire to free Israeli hostages still held by Hamas militants.
Hamas’s cross-border attacks on Israel have plunged the region into a devastating war. Gaza health department data show that the war has killed more than 670,000 Palestinians, including about half of those killed by women and children.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has devastated major cities in the Gaza Strip. Those able to escape are fleeing another Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, while others are refugees on the ground.
Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas are continuing indirect peace talks in Egypt starting Monday (October 6).
On October 7, the second anniversary of Hamas attacks, the Israeli people pay tribute to the victims of the Israeli female soldiers
Two years ago, Israel suffered the worst attack in its history, with thousands of Hamas militants massively flooding southern Israel after the first thousands of rocket attacks on Israeli territory.They attacked Israeli military bases, agricultural communities and an outdoor music festival, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, including women, children and the elderly.
Hamas also carried out a massive hostage operation during the attack, taking 251 Israeli hostages to the Gaza Strip.
By September this year, most of the hostages had been released under a ceasefire or other agreement reached between Israel and Hamas, but there were still 48 hostages trapped in Gaza, about 20 of whom Israel believes are still alive.
Hamas said it would release all the hostages only if the two sides reached a lasting ceasefire and Israel withdrew its troops.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed to continue the war until all hostages were released and Hamas disarmed.
The war in Gaza has triggered a series of military conflicts that have ripped across the Middle East, which led to a conflict between Israel and Iran and its allies in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, which suffered heavy losses. The United States also joined Israel this year in attacking Iran's military and nuclear programs during a 12-day war in June.
So far, Israel has killed several senior Hamas officials, as well as Iranian generals and nuclear scientists, and has greatly weakened enemy military capabilities, while controlling most of Gaza, as well as parts of Lebanon and Syria.
But the failure to push Hamas to return the hostages has plunged into a deep crisis of segregation within Israel, with weekly mass protests against Netanyahu accusing the Israeli leader of failing to make concessions to Hamas in exchange for the hostages home.
Two years of brutal war has left Israel internationally more isolated than it has been in decades.
On the occasion of the second anniversary of Hamas cross-border attacks on Israel, the Israeli people held commemorations at the venue of the Nova Music Festival, where hundreds of music lovers from around the world were killed by Hamas or imprisoned to the Gaza Strip.
On October 7, in a resort in neighbouring Egypt, Israel and Hamas held a second day of indirect talks to discuss the peace plan proposed by U.S. President Trump.
The two-year war in Gaza has displaced about 90% of Gaza's Palestinian population of about 2 million. They are often displaced multiple times, and restrictions on humanitarian assistance have led to severe hunger crises.
The war has robbed Gaza of everything meaningful in life, whether it's family gatherings or decent meals. A Palestinian named Ghassan Abu Rejeira said, "Our life has become hell. Every day there are killings, air strikes, deaths, martyrdom."
Dr. Mahatma Shebair of the Gazanese Hospital said the past two years have felt like decades and I’ve seen cases of children, elderly people, women, cut-offs, burns, and head injuries,” she said, “I don’t know how we will recover from these scenes in the future.”
International experts and leading human rights groups have accused Israel of genocide, and the International Criminal Court is seeking to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for accusing them of using starvation as a means of war.
Israel strongly denies these allegations, saying it is waging a legitimate self-defense war and taking special measures to avoid harming civilians.
Hamas described the October 7 attacks as a response to decades of Israeli land looting, settlement construction and military occupation, but the attack caused disastrous losses to the Palestinians, and despite recent actions by major Western nations to recognize an independent state, their dreams of an independent state remain far from achieved.
On October 7, Israeli forces continued to bomb the Gaza Strip during negotiations between Israel and Hamas| Associated Press