Citizens of Israel Come together to Mark Two Years Since The October 7 Hamas Attack

On Tuesday, people across Israel will gather in various locations to commemorate the second anniversary of the 7 October attack, during which fighters affiliated with Hamas killed about 1,200 people and seized 251 captives during an assault on southern Israel.

Community-led Remembrances and Rallies

Community memorials are scheduled in the small kibbutzim of the southern part of the country where residents were lost or abducted, and a sizeable public gathering is planned in Israel's coastal metropolis to call for the liberation of the captives yet to be returned from detention by Hamas in the Palestinian territory.

The official national ceremony of memorial will be held on 16 October in the country's main burial ground on the hill of Herzl after the religious festival of the Torah celebration.

Shared Anguish and Continuing Effects

The remembrance of the national ordeal of the attack two years ago – the deadliest single attack in the history of Israel – still looms large across the country. The images of captives still held in the coastal enclave are plastered on public transport stations across the land, and homes that were torched by armed individuals as they marauded through agricultural villages stand charred and abandoned.

Hundreds of survivors the attack on the Nova festival joined a commemoration on recent Sunday with former hostages and the relatives of those lost.

“This dear one would have been 27 years old now. I live the memory like it was an hour ago,” the bereaved father, whose son Idan Dor lost his life during the event, remarked while standing under a tribute featuring victims’ faces.

Ceasefire Hopes

The commemoration has been overshadowed by expectations that the war in Gaza might be coming to a close. Representatives from Hamas and Israel met in the Arab Republic on Monday where they commenced negotiations through intermediaries to finalize the terms of the release of all hostages held in Gaza and the release of around 2,000 incarcerated Palestinians, as well as the initial withdrawal of the nation's soldiers from the Gaza Strip.

This phase of discussions, although not close to an agreement, has generated more enthusiasm than any peace efforts after the last ceasefire fell apart in the middle of March.

Benjamin Netanyahu has stated he hopes to announce the return of those abducted “over the next few days”, while the former president has threatened Hamas with “complete destruction” in case the arrangement does not happen.

Civilian Demands

Certain memorial gatherings have been transformed into rallies to call on the leadership to conclude negotiations to bring the hostages home and stop the fighting. In a demonstration in the public space for captives in the metropolitan area on the past Saturday evening, relatives called for the prime minister accept Trump’s plan to end the war in the strip.

Gaza's Reality

Inside the territory, residents are anxiously awaiting to see if an armistice takes place. Regardless of Trump’s demands that Israel stop bombing the strip in anticipation of a captive return, attacks on Gaza persist. Gaza’s ministry of health said a minimum of 19 persons were lost their lives due to Israeli actions during the previous 24-hour period, incorporating two individuals seeking aid.

The upcoming Tuesday will also mark the 24-month mark of the onset of Israel’s military campaign on the Gaza Strip, which has caused material and human destruction to the inhabitants.

Over sixty-seven thousand residents of Gaza have been died and around one hundred seventy thousand have been injured by Israeli forces in Gaza, per the health authority in Gaza. No fewer than 460 people have died from starvation in the territory, and the international top body on food crises has declared a famine is developing in parts of the strip – a product of what the majority of humanitarian groups claim is an blockade by Israel on the strip. Israel has rejected the allegation.

A UN-led examination panel, several human rights groups and the world’s premier association of experts on genocide have stated Israel has carried out genocide in the territory over the past two years. Israel has denied the accusation and said its actions represent self-defence.