Israel commemorates this Wednesday the third anniversary of the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, a day that left around 1,200 dead and 251 people kidnapped and transferred to Gaza. Three years later, the country faces the anniversary with all the hostages already back, but also with a society marked by trauma, questions about the security failures that allowed the attack, and a political debate increasingly focused on the responsibilities of Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
The attack, directed against communities in southern Israel and against the Nova music festival, triggered an Israeli military offensive on Gaza that has completely transformed the Palestinian territory. According to Gazan health authorities, more than 74,000 Palestinians have died since the beginning of the war, while a large part of the population remains displaced and reconstruction remains practically paralyzed. The UN has called for the ceasefire to be consolidated, for humanitarian aid to increase, and for progress towards a lasting political solution.
An anniversary also marked by criticism of Netanyahu
The commemorations are accompanied by a question that remains unresolved within Israel: how was it possible for the October 7 attack to occur despite previous warnings and security failures. Families of victims and former hostages have demanded an independent investigation to determine political and security responsibilities. However, Benjamin Netanyahu's government has so far rejected the creation of an independent state commission to clarify what happened.
The criticisms also extend to the subsequent management of the war. The Israeli offensive on Gaza, launched after the Hamas attacks, has left tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths and massive destruction of homes and infrastructure. International organizations have also denounced the seriousness of the humanitarian situation and have demanded sufficient access to aid for the Gazan population.
The anniversary thus occurs amid a double claim for responsibilities: within Israel, for the failures that allowed the attack and for the management of the authorities before October 7; and internationally, for the consequences of the Israeli military response on the Palestinian population. The debate remains open as the country remembers its victims and Gaza continues to face the consequences of three years of conflict.
Gaza, the other scenario of the anniversary
The anniversary also unfolds with a paradox difficult to ignore: while Israel remembers the victims of October 7, Gaza continues to suffer the consequences of the military offensive unleashed after that attack. More than 74,000 people have died according to the enclave's health authorities and a good part of its infrastructure has been destroyed. Recent images show entire neighborhoods razed and a population that continues to live in precarious conditions despite the ceasefire.
The violence has not disappeared with the ceasefire either. This very Wednesday, coinciding with the anniversary ceremonies, new Israeli attacks were registered in Gaza that left several dead, according to Palestinian authorities. The bombings occurred while tributes to the victims were held in southern Israel and silence was observed in the places where some of the most serious attacks of 2023 took place.
The humanitarian situation continues to be critical. The United Nations has warned that the ceasefire has not yet provided a sufficient way to guarantee security, humanitarian assistance, and the recovery of the territory. The organization has called for the agreed commitments to be fulfilled and for the cessation of hostilities to become permanent.
The memory of Nova and a new mourning without hostages
In Israel, the anniversary began with a minute of silence at the time the attack began three years ago. Families of the victims went to road junctions, air raid shelters, kibbutzim, and the former Nova festival grounds, where hundreds of people were murdered. There, relatives placed photographs of the deceased and observed silence in front of the memorials.
It is the first anniversary since all the hostages have returned from Gaza. Among those who have participated in the tributes is Elkana Bohbot, kidnapped in Nova and released after 738 days of captivity. For him, this day means being able to remember the attack for the first time in Israel after regaining his freedom. At the festival site, where the attackers arrived in vehicles and paragliders and opened fire on attendees, the memory once again mixed with the consequences of a war that has not yet completely ended. Journalists present heard explosions coming from Gaza as the ceremonies unfolded.
Three years later, October 7 continues to be an open wound for Israel, but also the starting point of a devastation that has marked all of Gaza. The anniversary also comes with a question that runs through Israeli politics: who should assume responsibility for the failures that allowed the attack and what consequences should the subsequent military response have. With the October 27 elections just around the corner, the memory of that day once again puts Netanyahu and his government in the spotlight, while victims on both sides continue to await a definitive solution to a conflict that has not yet healed its wounds.
