Israel marks third anniversary of October 7 attacks with memorials and calls for inquiry

Israelis gathered at memorials and protests across the country on Wednesday to mark three years since the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

At 6:29 a.m., the time the attack began, President Isaac Herzog lit a memorial candle. Families observed moments of silence at the Nova music festival site, where more than 300 people were killed, and at attacked communities including Kfar Aza and Netiv HaAsara. Mourners also assembled at intersections, bomb shelters and other locations.

The commemorations included renewed demands for an independent state inquiry into the security failures preceding the attack. Protesters displayed burned vehicles from the Nova site outside the Knesset, while installations in Tel Aviv commemorated victims and called for accountability. A families’ ceremony near Tel Aviv drew about 50,000 people, Deutsche Welle reported.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended ceremonies in Jerusalem and vowed that Israel would pursue those responsible. Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who is challenging Netanyahu in Israel’s October 27 election, called the attack a “colossal failure” of the state.

Explosions from Israeli strikes in Gaza could be heard during some memorials despite a ceasefire officially in place for a year. Gaza officials reported several deaths in the strikes.

Commemorations were also held abroad. British Jewish organizations gathered opposite Downing Street in London, while supporters of Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri rallied with Israeli flags in Sweida, Syria.