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Gaza Genocideupdated 14m ago3 min read

Israel Marks Third Anniversary of Hamas-Led October 7 Attacks With New Gaza Strikes

Israel marks the third anniversary with nationwide ceremonies, memorials, and renewed Gaza strikes. About 1,200 killed and 251 hostages documented from Oct. 7 attacks; Gaza remains devastated.

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Israel Marks Third Anniversary of Hamas-Led October 7 Attacks With New Gaza Strikes
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Anniversary, mourning, and strikes

Israel marked the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks with silent tributes at 6:29 a.m. and with new strikes on Gaza, even as a ceasefire has been in effect for the past year. At the Nova music festival site near the Gaza border, Israelis bowed their heads in silence while AFP reporters heard loud bangs from across the border as Israel carried out new strikes during commemorations. Israel’s commemorations also included a vigil at the Kfar Aza kibbutz, where Hamas militants attacked on October 7, 2023, and a main event at Tel Aviv’s Captive’s Square.

AFP reported that Gaza officials said at least two people were killed in overnight strikes, and that Gaza has been reduced to rubble by relentless bombing in retaliation for the worst attack ever against Israel. Israel’s election calendar placed the October 27 vote weeks ahead, with AFP reporting that polls showed a tight race for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that Naftali Bennett joined mourners at Nova calling the attack a “colossal failure of the state of Israel.”

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Image: ABC
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Competing narratives and blame

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marked October 7 with official ceremonies in Jerusalem and vowed there would be “no forgiveness for the murderers” and that Israel would never allow rule in Gaza by Hamas. Naftali Bennett told reporters that “This was a colossal failure of the state of Israel, which was established to defend Jews in our land,” while he also said that young men and women came over to fight and protect lives. A public opinion expert at the Israel Democracy Institute, Tamara Herman, said “October 7 is the framework that governs the entire political debate,” as Netanyahu’s opponents and supporters argued over accountability and security failures.

The Associated Press framed the political stakes around the attack, saying “Nearly every poster, campaign speech, and television debate points to the attack that left a lasting scar on the country.” In Gaza, Al-Qahira Al-Ikhbaria’s correspondent Yusuf Abu Kwik said Israeli strikes did not stop in the early hours of the anniversary and described the message sent by low-altitude fighter jets breaking the sound barrier.

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Image: ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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War’s toll and future stakes

Israel’s offensive after October 7 has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza Strip health authorities, and it has displaced most of Gaza’s roughly two million residents into tents amid widespread destruction. AP reported that more than half of the territory remains in the hands of the Israeli military and that Israeli strikes continue almost daily despite a ceasefire deal reached nearly a year ago. Hamas said on the third anniversary that the Al-Aqsa flood represents a historical milestone and that it remains committed to resistance until the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Hamas also accused Israel of continuing “silent genocide despite the truce,” and it said about 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire. Al-Arabi Al-Jadid described the anniversary as part of a wider reshaping of reality in Gaza, and it reported that Security Minister יسرائيل كاتس ordered the Israeli army to raise readiness and operational alert in the Gaza Strip in preparation for possible attacks targeting Israeli forces.

Reporting for this sectionAP NewsAl-Jazirah Net