Projectiles fired from Gaza set off sirens in central Tel Aviv as Israel marks the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attack, which sparked a broader ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The attack, which also saw missiles launched into northern Israel, has been intercepted but at least two people have been injured, according to domestic outlets. Incidentally, Hamas’ attack one year ago also began with a volley of rockets from Gaza.
Earlier on Monday, Israeli strikes hit two makeshift points used by Hamas-run police at a hospital in central Gaza, wounding a journalist. There were no police present at the sites when they were hit.
Ali al-Attar, a journalist working for Al Jazeera, was hit by shrapnel while he was inside a tent used by reporters nearby, according to an AP reporter.
Hamas, which has ruled over Gaza since 2007, operated a police force numbering in the tens of thousands before the war. They have adopted a low profile after being repeatedly targeted by Israeli strikes but still maintain control on the ground.
Hamas’ surprise 7 October attack resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people, kicking off 12 months of violent fighting in the Middle East.
One year on from the brutal attacks that sparked the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Israelis across the country commemorated the event with vigils held for those killed.
In Reʿim, a kibbutz in southern Israel, the last track from the Nova music festival played one year on from the surprise Hamas 7 October attack.
At 6:30 am local time — the exact hour Hamas launched its attack 12 months ago — the families of those killed at the Nova music festival gathered at the site where almost 400 revellers were gunned down by the terrorist-designated group, with many others taken hostage.
They were joined and embraced by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, with whom they stood for a moment of silence.
One woman’s piercing wail broke the silence as explosions from Gaza, just a few kilometres southwest, echoed from the fighting.
Roughly 100 families of hostages still held in Gaza met outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence to stand during a two-minute siren, replicating a custom from the most solemn dates on the Israeli calendar, Holocaust Remembrance and Memorial Day.
“We are here to remind (the hostages) that we haven’t forgotten them,” said Shiri Albag, whose daughter Liri is among the captives.
Albag added that she and the other families “wouldn’t rest” until the remaining hostages were returned. Out of the 250 hostages who were originally captured by Hamas, around 97 remain unaccounted for — with some killed and others either rescued by IDF forces or returned home through an organised exchange.
Netanyahu and his government have come under increasing pressure domestically and abroad to broker a ceasefire deal with Hamas to end fighting in the Gaza Strip and return hostages.
Many of the families of those killed and taken captive in the attacks harbour resentment towards the Israeli government, for failing to prevent the assault as well as being unable to bring the remaining hostages home.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group set up to represent the families of the hostages, announced on Monday that Idan Shtivi was killed in the attacks on 7 October with his body being held by Hamas.
Israel will officially commemorate the date with a state ceremony prerecorded in the southern city of Ofakim that is set to air on Monday evening.
The event was originally planned to be much larger, but was since scaled back amidst safety concerns as Israel becomes further embroiled in an escalating conflict with Iran and Hezbollah, who have been firing missiles towards Israel’s Iron Dome system in retaliation to Israeli attacks. Agency reports
