Israelis gathered Wednesday to commemorate the
Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 people, saw 251 taken hostage and sparked a devastating war in Gaza that has left much of the territory in ruins and its 2 million people living in dire conditions.
In southern Israel, families mourned at intersections, bomb shelters and the site of a music festival that the militants
overran three years ago in the deadliest attack in the country's history. It is the first anniversary since all the hostages, living and dead, were returned,
marking a new stage of grief.
For Palestinians, the anniversary brings another day of misery after an Israeli retaliatory campaign in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of people.
Most Gaza residents live in vast, squalid tent camps, with large parts of the strip’s cities
reduced to rubble. More than half the territory remains in the hands of the Israeli military. Despite a ceasefire deal reached nearly a year ago, Israeli strikes continue almost daily.
For the region, the day highlights a startling transformation over the past three years.
REIM, Israel (AP) — On a field where music festival revelers were gunned down by
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Israeli troops occupy a
large chunk of southern Lebanon in their conflict with the Hezbollah militant group, which began firing on Israel in 2023 in support of Hamas. Iran and the United States are locked in a confrontation that has seen attacks across Gulf Arab countries and has shaken the global economy — a conflict that Israel helped launch and that the
Gaza war paved the way for, even if they weren’t directly connected.
The attack set in motion
a cascade of events that led to wars across the Middle East as Israel confronted Hamas, Hezbollah and their backer Iran. Israel has seized swaths of territory in Syria and Lebanon, where more than 300,000 Lebanese remain displaced. The United States joined Israel in attacking Iran’s military and nuclear program in two rounds, battering Iran and upending global markets far from the battlefield.
Tehran has also used the threat of unconventional attacks to inflict chaos on global energy markets and threaten the safety of Air Force One.
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In just 20 days, Israelis will head to the polls to decide whether to return to power Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the man who led Israel on the day of the Hamas-led attacks and in the tumultuous years since.
Netanyahu’s opponents accuse him of a litany of failures before and after that fateful day. They say he unwisely allowed Qatari money to flow into Gaza in a bid to keep Hamas quiet. They accuse him of ignoring warnings from the United Arab Emirates that Hamas was planning a major attack. And they say he has rejected calls for a 9/11 Commission-style public inquiry because the findings of such an investigation would damage him politically.
President Trump told reporters Thursday on the White House’s South Lawn that Iran “
won’t exist any longer” unless it signs “a very fair deal.” It is the latest of multiple threats where he has threatened Iran’s existence, remarks that lawmakers alleged earlier this year could amount to
threatening war crimes.
A spokesperson for Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades, offered a salute “steeped in glory and pride” to the fighters who took part in the Oct. 7 attacks.
Briefly acknowledging the “steep” price on the people of Gaza, Abu Obaida said they would be remembered for altering the face of history and the global balance of power. Since the attack and the ensuing war in Gaza, around 74,000 Palestinians have been killed and the majority of its population driven from their homes.
Abu Obaida also praised Iran for its support, as well as militant groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Officials in Tehran, meanwhile, have questioned whether Washington genuinely wants negotiations as the US-Israel war on Iran enters its eighth month.
Turkey is sending mainly defensive and technical support to Saudi Arabia to help it fight Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, two officials said on Wednesday, after the NATO member and Pakistan pledged to act on the collective defence commitment of their newly formed alliance.
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Two-thirds of Republican candidates in competitive US House and Senate races have broken with President Donald Trump on policy or played down ties to him, a Reuters review found, revealing a widespread effort to distance themselves from the president as his unpopularity threatens the party's...
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