Israel Marks Third Anniversary of October 7 Attacks as Gaza War Reshapes Middle East

TEL AVIV (Terror Monitor) — Israel on Wednesday marked the third anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks, with nationwide memorials, moments of silence and ceremonies held at sites where hundreds of people were killed or abducted three years ago.

The attacks killed about 1,200 people in Israel and resulted in 251 people being taken hostage and transported to the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli authorities and international reporting. The assault triggered the devastating war in Gaza and set off a chain of conflicts and regional confrontations that have transformed the Middle East.

Families of victims gathered in southern Israel at communities, bomb shelters and the site of the Nova music festival near Re’im, where more than 350 people were killed during the attack. Relatives remembered their loved ones at the exact time the first rockets were launched on October 7, 2023.

This year’s anniversary is also the first since all the hostages have returned home, marking a new stage in the families’ mourning and remembrance. Former hostage Elkana Bohbot, who was abducted from the music festival and spent 738 days in captivity before his release last year, was among those marking the anniversary in Israel for the first time.

Gaza devastated after three years of war

In Gaza, the anniversary was marked against the backdrop of enormous destruction and a continuing humanitarian crisis.

More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of Israel’s military campaign, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The figure does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, while United Nations agencies and independent experts have generally regarded the ministry’s casualty figures as reliable.

Most of Gaza’s roughly two million residents have been displaced, many repeatedly, and large parts of the territory have been reduced to rubble. Thousands of families continue to live in tents and makeshift shelters amid destroyed or heavily damaged neighborhoods.

A ceasefire that took effect in October 2025 halted the heaviest fighting, but Israeli strikes have continued, according to Palestinian officials and international media reports. Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 1,460 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire, while seven Israeli soldiers have also been killed during the same period.

Israel says its continuing military operations target Hamas militants and are necessary to protect Israeli security.

A region transformed by the conflict

The consequences of October 7 have extended far beyond Israel and Gaza.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel from Lebanon in support of Hamas after the October 2023 assault, eventually drawing Israel and the Lebanese group into a major conflict. Israeli forces have since taken control of parts of southern Lebanon, while more than 300,000 Lebanese remain displaced, according to recent international reporting.

The conflict also contributed to a wider confrontation between Israel and Iran. Israel and Iran exchanged attacks, while the United States became directly involved in strikes targeting Iranian military and nuclear capabilities. The confrontation also produced attacks and security incidents across several Gulf countries and affected international energy markets.

The Gaza war also coincided with escalating violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Palestinian residents and their property have faced increased attacks by Israeli settlers, while Israeli military operations have continued.

October 7 remains politically divisive in Israel

Three years after the attacks, the anniversary is taking place amid deep political divisions inside Israel.

Families of those killed and abducted have continued to demand accountability over the security failures that allowed Hamas-led forces to cross the Gaza border and attack Israeli communities. Critics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have also accused his government of mishandling the war and hostage negotiations.

The issue is particularly significant as Israel approaches an election, with the October 7 attack, the conduct of the Gaza war and questions over national security expected to remain major political issues.

Palestinian statehood appears further away

Hamas has portrayed the October 7 attack as a response to decades of Israeli military occupation, settlement expansion and Palestinian displacement.

Israel has rejected that justification and has described the attack as a mass assault against Israeli civilians and communities.

Three years later, however, the prospects for an independent Palestinian state appear more distant. The destruction in Gaza, continued Israeli military control over large areas, settlement expansion and the political division between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have complicated efforts toward a broader political settlement.

The anniversary has therefore become a moment of mourning on both sides: Israelis remember those killed and abducted on October 7, while Palestinians confront the enormous human cost and destruction that followed the attack.

For the wider Middle East, October 7 has become a defining turning point, triggering a series of wars and confrontations that have altered regional alliances, displaced hundreds of thousands of people and intensified tensions between Israel, Iran and their respective allies.