Israel marks third anniversary of October 7 Hamas attack amid new Gaza strikes

Israel marked the third anniversary of Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Wednesday and carried out new strikes in Gaza, with Palestinian officials reporting two dead. Additionally, dozens of Israeli occupiers surrounded homes of Palestinians in separate attacks across the occupied West Bank on Oct 6, and four died. Reports said that elsewhere in the Hebron area, Israeli occupiers attacked Palestinian homes and opened fire in Beit Ummar. No injuries or arrests were reported. Mourners observed a moment of silence at the site of the Nova music festival, which Hamas infiltrated on October 7, 2023 through cars and paragliders, family members bowed their heads at 6:29 am (0329 GMT), surrounded by portraits of victims with flowers placed underneath.

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Meanwhile, the commemorative events will be held under heightened security measures, three weeks from Israel's general elections and one week after a foiled attack on a Tel Aviv-bound passenger plane. Israel's defence minister said that he had put the military on high alert "in light of intelligence regarding Hamas's intentions to attempt to carry out attacks" against troops in Gaza on the anniversary. State memorial ceremonies were held during which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there would be no Hamas rule in Gaza and vowed to continue targeting anyone who was involved in the October 7 attack or who held hostages.

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In Gaza, the humanitarian situation remains dire despite a fragile US-brokered ceasefire declared last October, with hundreds of thousands still forced to live in tents and temporary structures. The political future and reconstruction of the war-shattered territory also remains largely stalled in practice. Since the ceasefire, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,430 people in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry.

French President Emmanuel Macron also marked the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks in a post on X. Macron said the attacks by Hamas had claimed the lives of more than 1,200 people, including 51 French nationals. He said France continued to share the grief of Israel and bereaved families three years after the attacks. "Three years later, we do not forget the names or the faces," Macron said, naming Maya, Ohad and Valentin among those remembered. Macron also reaffirmed France's commitment to combating antisemitism and terrorism "everywhere and always", while working for peace and the security of all.