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Israel is marking three years since the October 07 attacks, as the country remembers those killed in the Hamas-led attack that triggered a war which has since spread across the Middle East.
Around 1,200 people were killed after Hamas and other armed groups breached the border from Gaza on October 07, 2023, attacking communities, military positions and the Nova music festival. Another 251 people were taken hostage.
At 06:29am on Wednesday, marking the time the Hamas-led attack began three years ago, President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog lit a memorial candle at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.
Across Israel, families gathered to remember those killed, while demonstrations were also held demanding accountability for the security and intelligence failures that allowed the attack to happen.
In Tel Aviv, an installation featuring 1,200 alarm clocks was unveiled at Habima Square to represent families who lost loved ones.
The October Council said: “Three years we have been looking at the clock and waiting for answers.”
It added: “These clocks are a wake-up call: to remember those who are no longer with us, to awaken to life and to demand the truth.”
The anniversary comes as Israel’s military takes stock of three years of fighting across Gaza and the wider region.
The Israel Defense Forces said it has struck nearly 100,000 targets since October 07, including around 65,000 in Gaza, 28,000 in Lebanon and Syria, 4,500 in Iran and 80 in Yemen.
Israel has faced attacks from several fronts. According to IDF figures, around 10,200 missiles and other projectiles have been launched from Gaza, 20,000 from Lebanon, 1,200 from Iran, 90 from Yemen and 50 from Syria.
The figures illustrate how a war that began with Hamas’s attack from Gaza developed into a regional war involving Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and, eventually, direct warfare between Israel and Iran.
But the anniversary has also renewed scrutiny of the failures that preceded October 07.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir compared the attack with the surprise assault that began the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Zamir said the two events represented “two painful shortcomings, two failures, with a connecting thread between them”.
He said: “The lesson we must all learn from both wars is that the possibility of a surprise attack must concern us all; the IDF must always be prepared for a surprise war.”
Zamir added: “A commander who does not question and entrenches himself in his perceptions will be defeated. Reality is constantly sending us signals, and it is our duty to identify those signals, listen to them, and constantly adapt.”
He said: “At the same time, we must not become immersed solely in failure; we must confront it, learn from it, and move forward.”
The question of accountability remains deeply contentious in Israel. Bereaved families and survivors have continued to demand an independent investigation into the political, military and intelligence failures that preceded the massacre.
The war has also inflicted enormous destruction on Gaza.
More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, according to Gaza health authorities. More than 1.9 million Palestinians have been internally displaced, many several times, while more than 1.2 million people have lost their homes, according to a UN, European Union and World Bank assessment.
Large areas of Gaza have been destroyed or severely damaged. Despite a ceasefire agreed in October 2025, Israeli forces retain control over large parts of the territory and deadly strikes have continued.
The conflict has also fundamentally altered Israel’s confrontation with Iran and its network of allied groups.
Fighting with Hezbollah escalated into sustained warfare across the Lebanese border, while the Houthis repeatedly launched missiles and drones towards Israel from Yemen. Israel responded with strikes against Houthi-controlled territory.
The confrontation with Tehran eventually developed into direct state-to-state warfare, with Israel striking thousands of targets in Iran and Iran launching more than 1,000 ballistic missiles and other weapons towards Israel, according to the IDF.
The regional consequences remain stark on the anniversary. Fighting has intensified in Yemen, where the Iran-backed Houthis are battling Saudi-backed government forces and have continued missile attacks in the region.
Hamas, which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK, used the anniversary to praise the October 07 attack in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
Hamas military wing spokesman Abu Obeida described October 07 as a “military miracle” and attributed its success to what he called “skillful strategic deception”.
He said: “There is no longer any deterrence, decisiveness, or warning, thanks to God Almighty.”
Addressing Palestinians in Gaza, Abu Obeida acknowledged that “the price was high”.
He also pointed to attacks against Israel from Iran, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq and called for the confrontation to expand further.
Abu Obeida said: “What would happen if the western front were opened against him?”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog marked the anniversary with a message reflecting on the three years since the attack.
Herzog said: “There are stories of loss, survival, longing and pain.”
He added: “But also stories of recovery, of communities rising again, of people choosing to continue, plant a tree, build a new home, affix a mezuzah and move forward.”
Herzog said: “In all of them, a deep rupture and immeasurable strength are intertwined. In all of them there is one shared story – the story of all of us.”
He added: “We are one people. This is the home of all of us. And for this home, and for our shared story, we must stand together.”
Leaders around the world also marked the anniversary.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “Three years ago today, Hamas terrorists tortured, mutilated, and murdered 1,200 innocent civilians in Israel.”
He added: “Among those slain were men, women, and children – including dozens of Americans.”
Rubio said: “We will never forget this act of barbarism against an ally and recommit ourselves to the defense of civilization.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “Three years on from the October 7 attacks on Israel, we remember those who were senselessly killed by Hamas terrorists.”
Burnham also warned of a “disturbing rise in antisemitic behaviour in the UK” since the attack.
Addressing Britain’s Jewish community, he said: “We stand with you. Abuse and violence against you, in any form, will not be tolerated. Not on our streets, not online, not in our schools or universities.”
He added: “An attack on Jewish people in Britain is an attack on all of us. Antisemitism has no place in this country, and we will do everything we can to stamp it out.”
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said: “Three years ago, Hamas terrorists carried out the worst attack on Israel in its history, murdering 1,200 innocent people.”
He added: “I offer my deep condolences to those who lost loved ones. I send my solidarity to the people of Israel on the anniversary of this terrible act.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said: “Three years later, we do not forget the names or the faces.”
Macron said France remained committed to “Combating antisemitism and terrorism, everywhere and always, working for peace and the security of all: that is France’s commitment.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said October 07 “marked a profound rupture”.
He said: “We must confront antisemitism with determination.”
Merz added: “Jewish people should be able to live here without fear.”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said: “The 7 October attacks were a barbaric act of terror.”
She added: “Our thoughts are with the victims, the survivors, their families and all those who continue to carry the pain of that terrible day.”
Kallas also said Hamas must disarm for the Gaza peace plan to move forward.
Three years after the attack, its consequences extend far beyond the communities breached by Hamas on the morning of October 07.
Israel has fought across Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen. Gaza has suffered mass casualties, widespread destruction and the displacement of almost its entire population. Direct conflict between Israel and Iran has reshaped the regional security landscape, while fighting involving the Houthis continues to threaten Yemen and surrounding states.
For Israel, however, the anniversary remains first a day of mourning for those killed on October 07 and a reminder of the failures that allowed the attack to take place.
Three years later, those questions remain unresolved.
