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Hello. Israel is marking three years since the Hamasled attack on October the 7th in which 1,145 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage. Memorial events are taking place across Israel, beginning with a nationwide minutes silence at 6:29 a.m. local time, marking when the attacks began. On this day in 2023, Hamas militants breached the border fence and infiltrated Israeli frontier communities and military bases in a large-scale assault. People have been visiting the site of the Nova Music Festival. There, more than 360 people were killed. Dozens were taken hostage. Of the 251 people abducted by Hamas that day, only 168 came back alive through rescues and deals. In response, Israel launched a military
offensive in Gaza, killing more than 74,000 people, most of them civilians. That's according to Gaza's health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations. A Middle East correspondent Yolanell has been to the kibuts of near Oz, bordering Gaza, one of the hardest hit communities. Time stands still in this humble house in near Oz where the Simantov family were murdered in their bomb shelter. In the attacks three years ago, Hamas fighters shot through the door and set their house ablaze. Happiness, love, peace. Deit and Aki Aaron made it through alive with their children, but their 400 strong community was shattered. On the post boxes, those killed were marked in
red, in black, those kidnapped. Like Shiri Bas, this video showed her with Palestinian government distraught and clutching her ginger-haired sons. There was an international campaign to bring them home, but all three were murdered in captivity. Deletit and Shiri were close friends. Pregnant at the same time, their children born a week apart were always together. You know, it's hard and I miss her so much. [snorts] The pain is too much for some survivors who've now moved away for good. But Deit plans to return to the kabuts
where she was born. Welcome back for a memory of Shiries and for all the people that didn't have the chance to live here and for the member of my parents and to continue our roots. Already most homes have been torn down, leaving just the safe rooms that failed to keep people safe. In Nos, there are burntout houses like these where children and families were murdered and there's a debate about whether to leave them as memorials. A handful of residents have come back and there are newly built homes here. But 3 years on, most families from Nero are still displaced, many living in limbo.
Rebuilding is set to take 2 years and there are still unanswered questions about security next to war torn Gaza. Aki Deit's husband says that this 7th of October anniversary is a time to focus on healing. Until the hostages came back, it was the only thing on our mind. Yeah. And now it's uh our recovery or some kind of recovery as much as we can. Aki is embracing surfing as therapy with Delete cheering him on. The couple still face huge struggles but say they're trying to break through their fears. Yoland Nell, BBC News in southern Israel.
Well, I've been speaking to Yoland. She's now near Reim where the Nova Music Festival was being held on the weekend of the attack. So, this is the site of the Nova Dance Festival. This was actually the dance floor that you can see behind me. Now, on that terrible day three years ago, there were 378 people who were killed here. 44 who were taken hostage and uh taken to Gaza, only 25 of whom returned alive. Now, what we've been seeing is buses arriving here uh bringing some groups from Israeli schools. There have been visiting foreign dignitaries and also of course the bereaveved families and the survivors of the event have been coming here to pay their respects. There is a post for each of the people who've been killed and they
have a picture of them uh with their story as well. And this is a day of somber reflection um for Israelis. But also um there's been a reminder although this year this is the first anniversary with no hostages remaining in Gaza. There was that US brokered ceasefire deal uh nearly one year ago now. But that has not brought back um a sense of security for Israelis or peace here. We have had even in the past couple of hours the loud thuds of either Israeli bombing or shelling taking place in Gaza that is just next door to us and a reminder really how Israel's deadliest uh ever day resulted in Gaza's deadliest ever war and Yoland the attacks have left deep scars across Israel and the whole region. That's right. And really, you know, this
is a day that had huge consequences. Um, first of all, you know, really destroying Israel's sense of security and triggering other wars um in this region as well um with Lebanon. You can connect it to um the wars happening even now with Israel and the US um against Iran. And really, you know, despite the fact that this has had such devastating consequences on Gaza, there has not been sort of a way forward. There's been this impass in implementing President Trump's peace plan uh trying to get Hamas to disarm for Israel to withdraw and Israel continues to control more than 60% of Gaza until now. This is an issue that is really feeding into Israel's very divisive elections which are happening
later this month. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused by many Israelis of you know um being responsible for failures in security that led to those 7th of October attacks, those unprecedented attacks. And there are many who are calling particularly from among the Bereaved family for a state commission of inquiry into exactly what happened in the leadup to those attacks. Uh how this was able to happen. Yoland now. Well, a little later this hour, we're going to hear from Ephra Matikawa. Her family was kidnapped on October the 7th. Let's just show you some of the live shots that we've got from around Israel. This is at Kafar Azar the Kabut there, which is a
cooperative community. It's about 3 kilometers, just under 2 miles from the border with the Gaza Strip. And that is where uh the Hamas militants attacked on the 7th of October 2023 and carrying out the massacres and the hostage abductions there. So commemorative events very solemn day there very close to the border with Gaza at the Kafar Azar Kibuts where people remember what happened 3 years ago exactly now let's just show you the live shot from Gaza just a few kilometers away and we've been speaking to our Gaza correspondent Rushi Abu Alu he is now based in Istanbul and I talked to him u and started by asking him what the anniversary means to Gazans Well, you know, it was just one morning that changed the people's life seems for
forever. Two million people has never lived one peaceful day since October the 7th. Although there is a ceasefire officially in place uh last since last year but about 1,500 people have been uh killed since the ceasefire and people are still you know living the same uh you know very difficult condition. they queue every morning to get a clean uh water and they barely find you know enough food to uh to eat and medicine and this is a very big issue for the people of Gaza where there is no like I was talking to doctors in Gaza in the last couple of days and they said there is no MRI machine in the entire of Gaza there is only three CT scan machines they saw one machine for every 700,000 people are waiting for months to get just basic you know uh CT scan
and even if they got diagnosis for something I spoke to a family one of the mother's diagnosis with cancer and she said nothing can be done for her they just gave her a painkiller she's waiting for anyone to allow her outside of Gaza for treatment so the people since 7th of October their life has changed and they still live the consequences of it They suffer their homes were destroyed. Well, though there is no official, you know, ceremony in Gaza to mark that day, but thousands of people were posting in social media before and after. They show their destroyed homes. They show their loved one who were you know died during the h three years of war. And people try to market some people try to market in
different way by criticizing Hamas and asking Hamas questions. You have said three years ago that this is justified action against Israel because you want to release the Palestinian prisoners. Since then Gaza has completely destroyed twothird of Gaza's under Israeli security control. Most of the families they live in make shift houses and tins and nothing has been achieved but misery for Gaza. Rushi Abu Alu, our Gaza correspondent who's now based in Istanbul. We'll have more on the anniversary of October the 7th, the three-year anniversary a little later here on BBC News.
