Memorials were planned at the Nova festival site and Hostage Square in Tel Aviv as Israel marked three years since the 7 October 2023 attack, 20 days before a national election.
Israelis marked Wednesday three years since Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, Reuters reported from Jerusalem. The attacks killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, the deadliest day in Israel's history, according to the same account.
A vigil was planned at the Nova music festival site near the Gaza border, where Reuters said 348 people were killed. A separate commemoration was set for Hostage Square in Tel Aviv. BBC reported a nationwide minute of silence at 06:29 local time, the hour the assault began, and said official state memorials had already been held on Monday.
Gaza health authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive that followed, Reuters reported. A US-backed ceasefire has been in place for about a year, but strikes have continued and living conditions in the enclave remain dire, according to Reuters and the BBC live page.
The anniversary falls 20 days before Israel's first election since the attack. Reuters described the vote as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has rejected blame for the security failure and resisted calls for an independent inquiry.
The last body of an Israeli hostage was recovered in January, Reuters reported. Neither Reuters nor the BBC published a full casualty list for Wednesday's ceremonies.
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- Reuters said families would gather at the Nova site and at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv.
- BBC quoted a widow at kibbutz Kfar Aza saying that after her husband stopped answering his phone she knew what happened only from later accounts.