Israeli forces are on high alert for attacks ahead of the grim anniversary of Iranian-backed militant group Hamas’ unprecedented massacre one year ago.
Palestinian militants in Gaza fired four rockets into Israel early on Monday morning as mourners marked the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack, although The Associated Press (AP) reported the incident did not disrupt a nearby ceremony in south Israel.
Hamas claimed responsibility for additional attacks on Israeli forces across different areas of Gaza.
According to the Israeli military, three of the rockets were intercepted, while a fourth landed in an open area. No casualties or damage were reported.
Victoria stands in front a picture of her sister, Yulia Waxer Daunt, as she visits the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. Rockets already launched from Gaza on Monday failed to disrupt mourners.
Ariel Schalit/AP
Exactly 12 months ago, Hamas-led militants launched a deadly surprise attack, breaching Israel’s security fence and targeting nearby military bases and farming communities. The assault resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the abduction of 250 others. The militants are still holding around 100 captives inside Gaza.
The conflict’s anniversary underscored the suffering of Palestinians as they faced a devastating Israeli offensive that has killed around 42,000 people, according to local medical officials.
03:32 AM EDT
Macron Mourns Victims of Oct 7 Attacks
French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to the victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in a post on X. “The pain remains, as vivid as it was a year ago. The pain of the Israeli people. Ours. The pain of wounded humanity,” Macron wrote. “We do not forget the victims, the hostages, or the families with broken hearts from absence or waiting. I send them our fraternal thoughts.”
03:28 AM EDT
Families Honor Victims of Nova Festival Attack at Site of Tragedy
At 6:29 a.m.—the exact moment when Hamas launched its attack—families of those killed at the Nova music festival gathered at the site alongside Israeli President Isaac Herzog, according to The AP. The gathering marked the spot where nearly 400 festivalgoers were killed and many others taken hostage.
According to the report, the ceremony briefly played the trance music that had filled the air during the festival, before hundreds of family members and friends stood in a moment of silence. The silence was broken by a woman’s piercing wail as distant booms from fighting in Gaza, only a few kilometers away, echoed in the background.
“When we are here, we are near our loved ones. This is the time they danced and fled,” said Sigal Bar-On, whose niece, Yuval Bar-On, 25, and her fiance Moshe Shuva, 34, were supposed to marry in December 2023.
