Three years after Hamas’s 7 October assault, Israel returned to the places that still carry its scars — mourning in silence even as fresh Israeli strikes hit Gaza and a fierce election campaign sharpened the country’s argument over responsibility for its deadliest day.
At the site of the Nova music festival, where Hamas militants arrived in trucks and paragliders and began shooting around dawn on 7 October 2023, relatives stood with heads bowed. One mourner broke the quiet in a different way, turning to techno music as a tribute to those who never left the dancefloor.
At both Nova and Kfar Aza kibbutz — another scene of mass killings three years ago — AFP reporters heard loud bangs from across the Gaza border during the commemorations as Israel carried out new strikes, despite a ceasefire officially in place for the past year.
Gaza officials said three people were killed in strikes on the territory, much of it left in ruins after relentless Israeli bombing in response to the deadliest attack ever carried out against Israel.
At Nova, Katia Zohar, whose daughter Bar Zohar was killed at age 23, described 6.29am local time — the moment the assault began — as “the minute that changed our lives forever”.
“Sadly I remember everything,” Zohar said. “The moment she called for me to come and pick her up because there were missiles in the air. Then the second time when she called from the road, screaming that they were shooting at her.”
Anna Davitashvili, 53, honoured her eldest son Shaun, who was 25 when he was killed at Nova along with friends, by playing the final techno track partygoers were dancing to when the attack erupted.
“I feel him here. I’m terribly sorry that I couldn’t save him, I couldn’t help him get out of this massacre,” she said, tears filling her eyes.
A moment’s silence was held at the site of the Nova festival killings
In Tel Aviv, activists laid out on the beach the outlines of more than 1,100 bodies — a stark memorial to the 7 October dead and a demand for accountability over how the attack was not prevented.
Election battle
Israel is set to vote on 27 October in its first elections since the attack, with surveys pointing to a tight contest for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In the three years since, he has directed the sweeping offensive in Gaza and overseen wars against Hezbollah in Lebanon as well as Iran, whose cleric-run government backs Hamas.
At Nova, former prime minister Naftali Bennett — now trying to unseat Mr Netanyahu — told reporters the events of 7 October represented “a colossal failure of the state of Israel, which was established to defend Jews in our land.”
The centre-left Democrats Party posted online video from the attack, offering no commentary alongside the footage.
An installation representing those who died in the Hamas attack on Israel is seen in Tel Aviv
“A government that for three years has not destroyed Hamas’s rule is a government dangerous to Israel,” Democrats leader Yair Golan said.
Mr Netanyahu observed the anniversary at official ceremonies in Jerusalem on Monday, timed closer to the date on the Jewish calendar.
He said there would be “no forgiveness for the murderers” and pledged Hamas would never again be allowed to rule Gaza. The group has suffered major losses but still controls part of the territory.
Hamas, though battered, used the third anniversary to project defiance, calling 7 October in a statement “a glorious day of our people’s history”.
The group said it had “smashed the myth of the invincible army”, framing the attack as “a natural response to, and culmination of, decades of bitter suffering” — including Israel’s blockade of Gaza, imposed after the Islamist movement seized the territory in 2007.
People take pictures of the Dizengoff Fountain, filled with red dye in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv
The shock of the assault cut deep in a country that has long taken pride in securing its borders despite persistent threats.
Israelis found a more triumphant storyline last week, when passengers helped thwart an attack by the co-pilot of a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv — though it quickly raised fresh questions about why he had been allowed to fly.
On 7 October 2023, Palestinian fighters broke through the border and rampaged through southern Israel with gunfire, rockets and grenades.
According to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures, 1,221 people were killed.
Militants also took 251 hostages into Gaza, 44 of them already dead.
A woman bows her head as she stands amid the portraits of those killed at the Nova festival
Israel’s military campaign has uprooted nearly Gaza’s entire population and killed more than 74,200 people, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry — figures the United Nations considers reliable.
In Tel Aviv, women work on a banner for the third anniversary of Hamas’s 7 October attack
This anniversary also marks the first since an 10 October 2025, US-brokered ceasefire deal that stopped major fighting but did not end Israeli attacks in Gaza or deliver the disarmament of Hamas and other militant groups.
Under the deal, Israel retained control of about 53% of Gaza, an area Israeli forces have since expanded to nearly two-thirds.
Hamas holds the remaining third, where around 2 million people largely survive in makeshift tents and bombed-out buildings.
Residents search through rubble to salvage belongings along Al-Rashid Street in western Gaza City
US President Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” has floated several proposals for rebuilding Gaza. But the plans — which do not address property rights for Palestinians whose homes were destroyed — have failed to win the backing of Israel or Hamas, with the sides still stuck in ceasefire talks.
They remain unable to bridge the core issue: a deal in which Hamas would surrender its weapons in exchange for Israeli troop withdrawals.
Israel says it will not withdraw until Hamas fully disarms. Hamas says it has accepted a phased process, but will not disarm while Israeli attacks continue.
Israel has continued bombing Gaza, killing a number of Hamas militants in recent months, Gaza health authorities say, while also causing many civilian deaths. Those officials’ death tolls do not separate civilians from combatants.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid a wreath during a state memorial ceremony, at Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on Monday
Israel launched new strikes in Gaza this morning, Palestinian officials said, reporting two people killed.
In Gaza City, Al-Shifa hospital said two people died in an Israeli strike overnight.
Gaza’s civil defence said one of the dead was a volunteer with the agency, which operates as an emergency rescue service under Hamas.
A young boy cries during the funeral of his father, killed in the latest Israeli attack on Gaza
Since the October 2025 ceasefire, Gaza health authorities say more than 1,400 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed.
Over the same period, five Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants or in combat, Israel’s military says.
We ‘recall the memory’ of those killed – McEntee
Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said Ireland was remembering “the horror and brutality” of the 7 October attacks by Hamas and other groups, and “the unimaginable terror and panic” they caused.
“Over a thousand people were massacred. The largest loss of life and the deadliest single day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Ms McEntee said in a statement.
“I reiterate Ireland’s unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and the despicable attacks it carried out, as well as the unconscionable taking of hostages.
Helen McEntee reiterated Ireland’s unequivocal condemnation of the attacks
She said her thoughts, in particular today, were with Emily Hand and her family, and with the loved ones of Kim Damti.
Emily, who is Irish-Israeli, was eight years old when Hamas abducted her during the 7 October attacks. She was held in Gaza for 50 days before being released during a brief truce.
Ms Damti, also Irish-Israeli, was 22 when she was killed at the Nova music festival.
“We recall the memory of all those killed on that day or in captivity, and the unimaginable suffering of those who were taken hostage and their loved ones,” Ms McEntee said.
“I recognise that the anguish and trauma of that day endure for Israelis, and for Jewish communities in Ireland and elsewhere,” she added.
Ms McEntee said the “terrible cycle of violence” was continuing and that Israelis and Palestinians “deserve to live in peace and security”.
“Over 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since 7 October. The majority of Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced and continue to shelter in overcrowded tents or unsafe structures,” she said.
“They face a fourth winter exposed to the elements. We reiterate our call on Israel to allow immediate, unimpeded access of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.
“Ireland reiterates our call for all parties to fully implement their commitments under the Comprehensive Peace Plan. We must redouble our efforts and do everything we can to secure a sustainable and enduring peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” she added.
