Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas’ October seven attack 

Israel began its commemorations Monday of the first anniversary of Hamas’s deadly October 7 attack, with an outpouring of emotion at vigils at massacre sites and rallies calling for the return of hostages.

Ceremonies and events are planned across Israel and in cities around the world to mark the anniversary of the unprecedented attack by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip, which claimed 1,205 lives.

President Isaac Herzog began the day with a moment of silence at 6:29 am — the exact time the attack started — at Kibbutz Reim, the site of the Nova music festival where at least 370 people were killed by heavily armed Hamas fighters in the deadliest attack on October 7.

Families of those killed attended the memorial, many of them crying, as Herzog met the crowd, an AFP correspondent reported.

In the city of Tel Aviv, too, families of hostages and supporters rallied before dawn to call for the return of their loved ones, holding banners and placards bearing their pictures.

On Sunday, tens of thousands of people attended events in cities around the world, some organised to pay tribute to the victims of Hamas’s attack and others to voice support for the Palestinian people after a year of war in the Gaza Strip.

“Coming to this event one year after this terrible massacre that happened on October 7, it’s very touching,” said organiser Solly Laniado at a ceremony on Sunday in Tel Aviv to remember the victims of the Nova attack.