REIM, Israel (AP) — Thousands of people converged on southern Israel on Tuesday to mourn the dead as the nation marked two years since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack plunged the region into a devastating war, while Israel and Hamas pressed on with indirect peace talks in Egypt.
The main memorial event in Tel Aviv, organized by the bereaved families, was separate from a ceremony that the government will hold on the anniversary next week according to the Hebrew calendar. The split reflects deep divisions over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership, which many blame for the failure to secure a ceasefire that would free the remaining hostages held by the militants.
In the Gaza Strip, where Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed tens of thousands of people and razed entire towns and cities, those who can are fleeing another Israeli invasion of Gaza City while others are sheltering in place. Many are unable to make the arduous and costly journey south.
It’s been two years since thousands of Hamas-led militants poured into southern Israel after a surprise barrage of rockets. They stormed army bases, farming communities and an outdoor music festival, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, including women, children and older adults.
They abducted 251 others, most of whom have since been released in ceasefires or other deals. Forty-eight hostages remain inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive. Hamas has said it will release them only in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until all of the captives are returned and Hamas has been disarmed.
The attack set in motion a cascade of events that led Israel into combat with Iran and its allies across the region, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which suffered major losses. The United States joined Israel in attacking Iran’s military and nuclear program in a 12-day war in June.
Israel has killed several top militants as well as Iranian generals and nuclear scientists, and it has vastly depleted the military capabilities of its enemies while seizing control over most of Gaza as well as parts of Lebanon and Syria.
But the failure to return the hostages has left the country deeply divided, with weekly mass protests against Netanyahu. Israel is more isolated internationally than it has been in decades.
Nearly 400 Israelis were killed and dozens abducted from the Nova music festival in the border community of Reim. Over the last two years, it has emerged as a memorial site, with portraits of the kidnapped and the fallen.
Thousands of people visited throughout the day to share memories of relatives and friends who were killed, weaving through hundreds of photos encircling the spot where the DJ booth stood.
Many gathered before sunrise, playing the same track of music that was playing two years ago, stopping for a moment of silence at 6:29 a.m. — the exact time the attack began. People embraced and spoke of their loss.
“We don’t need a specific day, because we live this every day anew,” said Alon Muskinov, 28, who was at the festival and lost three of his closest friends.
Yehuda Rahmani, whose daughter Sharon — a police officer at the festival — was also among those killed, said he visits the Nova site every day. He drinks his morning coffee next to a photo of his daughter at the last place where she was alive.
To this day, Rahmani keeps hoping he will run into a survivor who could tell him about his daughter’s last moments. He is angry at the government for not launching an inquiry into security failures of that day.
“When you don’t know what happened, it makes it so much harder,” he said.
Israeli artillery and the boom of explosions in Gaza echoed across the Nova site as smoke billowed over the Strip. The Israeli military said a rocket was launched from northern Gaza in the morning, but no damage or injuries were reported.
Israeli forces have arrested at least 35 people in the occupied West Bank, east Jerusalem and elsewhere since Monday, according to a group representing Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli military did not immediately confirm the arrests but said “regular counterterrorism activity” was underway.