Israel marks three years since October 7 attack with memorials and protests

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Three years to the minute after the start of the deadliest single day in Israel’s history, the country marked the somber occasion with a series of ceremonies, memorials and protests at more than 400 locations.

At 6:29 in the morning on October 7, 2023, Hamas-led gunmen stormed Israeli communities along the border with the Gaza Strip, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages to the enclave. Those slain included children, women, elderly people and complete families.

The commemoration began with a national moment of silence at the time the attack started. At noon, bereaved families and civil grassroot protest groups will hold a national minute of reflection, joined by various public hospitals, local municipalities, universities and private businesses.

Memorial events will also take place at the Nova festival site in the Re’im Forest, where over 370 people were murdered and 44 were abducted. Additional protest convoys and displays are expected throughout the country all day.

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Shir Mathias, whose parents Shachar and Shlomi Mathias were killed during the attack on Kibbutz Holit on the Gaza border, called Tuesday for a change in the country’s leadership.

“Just before we enter October 7, I have one message,” she wrote on X. “Everyone who had their hand on the wheel, those in uniforms and suits alike — must go home. I call on all citizens of Israel, change your profile picture to the most self-evident message: ‘Everyone must go home.’”

On Wednesday evening, a national memorial ceremony will be held in Tel Aviv, and tens of thousands are expected to attend. The event is organized by the “Kumu” movement (“Rise Up” in Hebrew), which represents October 7 survivors and victims’ families, and will be hosted by former hostage Eli Sharabi and actress Shani Cohen.

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Israel held its official state memorials on Monday. “Even three years after the outbreak of the war — when the State of Israel is stronger than ever — the terrible hours of the Simchat Torah attack remain seared within us,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, referencing the Jewish holiday on which the attack happened.

At a cabinet meeting one day later, Netanyahu foreshadowed more war ahead, despite a stalled US-brokered ceasefire agreement one year ago. He said Israel has killed “4,000 out of 6,000” militants who infiltrated Israel on October 7, 2023. “We will reach all of them,” he said, amid near daily Israeli strikes in Gaza. Since the start of the war, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the strip.

In contrast to the official ceremonies, most of Wednesday’s commemoration events are grassroots efforts, organized by survivors and victims of the October 7 attack, including the October Council and the Kumu movement.

A recurring demand by both groups is to establish a state commission of inquiry, the most powerful investigative mechanism in Israeli law empowered to examine national-level disasters and decisions. Netanyahu has consistently resisted such calls for three years and has not appointed any other special inquiry to investigate the failures that day.

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The war in Gaza is over, but the fight in Israel for accountability has barely begun

Einav Zangauker, mother of freed hostage Matan Zangauker and one of the most vocal critics of the government, wrote Tuesday on X: “Three years since the day that changed my life and our lives as a people. Three years of loss and pain. Three years of a basic demand for accountability. For those we lost, for those who returned and whose lives were changed forever, and for a country that deserves hope and repair.”

The anniversary falls less than three weeks from the October 27 election in which accountability has become a central campaign issue. Netanyahu’s rivals have stepped up their criticism and have turned the anniversary into to a focal point of their campaign, especially after a string of media reports alleging that Israel received preliminary warnings from the United Arab Emirates and Egypt ahead of the attack.

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“This is a very deep failure,” said Gadi Eisenkot, currently polling as Netanyahu’s main challenger in the elections. He accused the prime minister of dodging a state commission of inquiry.

“Netanyahu knows better than anyone why he is running from the truth, why he wants to bury the truth,” he said at a recent conference. Eisenkot, whose son was killed in Gaza during the war, will spend the day visiting Israeli communities along the Gaza border, as will former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, another Netanyahu rival.

伊利亚·叶菲莫维奇/法新社/盖蒂图片社

在以色列历史上最致命的一天开始整整三年后，该国在 400 多个地点举行了一系列仪式、纪念活动和抗议活动，以纪念这一悲痛的时刻。

2023年10月7日早上6点29分，哈马斯领导的枪手袭击了以色列与加沙地带接壤的以色列社区，造成1200多人死亡，251名人质被劫持到加沙地带。遇难者包括儿童、妇女、老人和整个家庭。

纪念活动以全国默哀开始，默哀时间与袭击发生的时间相同。中午时分，遇难者家属和民间基层抗议团体将举行全国默哀仪式，多家公立医院、地方政府、大学和私营企业也将参与其中。

在雷姆森林的诺瓦音乐节举办地也将举行纪念活动，那里曾有超过370人被杀害，44人被绑架。预计全天全国各地还将有更多抗议车队和示威活动。

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希尔·马蒂亚斯的父母沙查尔和什洛米·马蒂亚斯在加沙边境基布兹霍利特的袭击中丧生。周二，希尔·马蒂亚斯呼吁更换该国领导层。

“在10月7日到来之际，我只想传达一个信息，”她在X上写道。“所有参与决策的人，无论身穿制服还是西装——都必须回家。我呼吁所有以色列公民，将你们的头像换成最显而易见的信息：‘所有人都必须回家。’”

周三晚间，特拉维夫将举行全国悼念仪式，预计将有数万人参加。此次活动由“库姆”（Kumu，希伯来语意为“崛起”）运动组织，该运动代表10月7日事件的幸存者和遇难者家属，并将由前人质埃利·沙拉比和女演员沙尼·科恩主持。

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以色列周一举行了官方悼念活动。总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡表示：“即使在战争爆发三年后——以色列国比以往任何时候都更加强大——住棚节袭击事件的可怕时刻仍然深深地烙印在我们心中。”他指的是发生袭击的犹太节日。

在一天后的内阁会议上，内塔尼亚胡预示着未来还将爆发更多战争，尽管一年前由美国斡旋达成的停火协议陷入僵局。他表示，以色列已击毙了2023年10月7日潜入以色列的6000名武装分子中的“4000人”。在以色列几乎每天都对加沙地带发动空袭的情况下，他说道：“我们将消灭他们所有人。”据巴勒斯坦卫生部统计，自战争爆发以来，已有超过73000名巴勒斯坦人在加沙丧生。

与官方仪式不同，周三的大部分纪念活动都是由10月7日袭击事件的幸存者和受害者组织的基层活动，其中包括十月委员会和库姆运动。

双方反复要求成立国家调查委员会，这是以色列法律赋予的最有力的调查机制，有权审查国家层面的灾难和决策。内塔尼亚胡三年来一直拒绝此类呼吁，也没有任命任何其他特别调查组来调查当天发生的事故。

穆斯塔法·阿尔卡鲁夫/阿纳多卢/盖蒂图片社

加沙战争已经结束，但以色列国内的问责斗争才刚刚开始。

获释人质马坦·赞高克的母亲艾纳夫·赞高克是政府最直言不讳的批评者之一，她周二在X网站上写道：“三年前，改变我和我们整个民族命运的那一天。三年来的失去和痛苦。三年来，我们始终坚持要求追究责任。为了那些逝去的人，为了那些归来后生活从此改变的人，也为了这个值得希望和重建的国家。”

距离10月27日的大选不到三周，而问责制已成为此次大选的核心议题。内塔尼亚胡的竞争对手加大了批评力度，并将周年纪念日作为竞选的焦点，尤其是在一系列媒体报道称以色列在袭击发生前收到了来自阿联酋和埃及的预警之后。

Dima Vazinovich/中东图片社/法新社/盖蒂图片社

“这是一次非常严重的失败，”目前民调显示内塔尼亚胡在选举中的主要挑战者加迪·艾森科特说道。他指责总理回避国家调查委员会的调查。

“内塔尼亚胡比任何人都清楚他为何要逃避真相，为何要掩盖真相，”他在最近的一次会议上说道。艾森科特的儿子在战争期间于加沙丧生，他将用一天的时间走访加沙边境沿线的以色列社区，另一位内塔尼亚胡的竞争对手、前总理纳夫塔利·贝内特也将采取同样的行动。