Israelis mourn Oct. 7 attack as Palestinians in Gaza languish in ruins of the war it sparked

On the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack, Israelis gathered at the Nova Music Festival site and in communities targeted that day to mourn the more than 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage. Tens of thousands attended a ceremony in Tel Aviv organized by bereaved families, separate from official government events. Survivors’ relatives embraced at 6:29 a.m., the exact time the first rockets were launched three years ago.

Anya Davitashili, who lost her 25-year-old son Sean, said she visits the festival site every Saturday, where she feels closest to him. ‘I have a video of him dancing here that ends at 6:29 in the morning. It’s in front of my eyes all the time,’ she said. ‘Every morning, you wake up and there is just endless missing.’ Hundreds paid respects to the over 350 killed in and around the festival site, where videos showed terrorists gunning down fleeing revelers and shooting the wounded at point-blank range.

Elkana Bohbot, released after 738 days in captivity, marked his first anniversary in Israel since being freed. He described being held in a dark, damp tunnel, given little food, allowed to bathe only every few weeks, and forced to appear in propaganda videos. Since his release, he has undergone rehabilitation, and his wife gave birth to a daughter in August, fulfilling a promise he made in captivity to give his son a sibling. Bohbot told The Associated Press the newborn is ‘not a symbol for my people, she is more of a symbol for the enemy… This child is the message for you that we were here and we will always be here forever.’

Larger evening ceremonies honored both the dead and those forever changed, including doctors who identified bodies and a bus driver who died by suicide after the attack. Eli Sharabi, held captive for 16 months and who lost his wife, two daughters, and brothers, said, ‘We will bear witness and tell the story of the day the sky fell upon us.’ The anniversary comes amid a national election, with voters divided over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership and his role in the security failures surrounding the attack.

Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal