Israelis are holding memorials at more than 400 locations on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, three years after Hamas-led gunmen attacked southern Israel. In Gaza, families said they still do not know where they will live next.
The day began at 6:29 a.m., the time the attack started in 2023. A nationwide minute of silence followed.
At the Nova music festival site near Re’im, relatives walked among photographs of the dead. Gunmen killed 378 people there and took 44 hostage, according to the Israeli military. Ahuva Yavin Mayze swept the stones around the memorial for her daughter, Adi, who was 21. Ahuva told the BBC she believes Adi died instantly from a gunshot to the head. “What happened here was not human,” she said.
At Kibbutz Kfar Aza, residents gathered at the armory where seven members of the civil defense unit died. A bugler played as the flag was lowered to half-mast, and relatives read the names of the dead aloud. The widow of the unit’s deputy commander told the BBC that at 7:21 a.m. on October 7, 2023, her husband sent her a message saying he loved her. She has known what happened after that only from other people’s accounts.
Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages that day. Of the hostages, 168 came home alive or were rescued, and 83 died. The army recovered the last body, that of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, in January 2026.
Many families now ask why no official inquiry has taken place. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused for three years to set up a state commission of inquiry. Two survivor groups, Kumu and the October Council, organized most of today’s events and want one. Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan came home from captivity, wrote on X that Israelis have made “a basic demand for accountability” for three years.
The issue is part of the election campaign. Israelis vote on October 27. Gadi Eisenkot, a former army chief of staff, is polling as Netanyahu’s main challenger. He says the prime minister avoids an inquiry because he fears what it would find.
READ ALSO: World Bank Upgrades Nigeria’s Economic Outlook, Projects 4.4% Growth
Across the border, the war has left much of Gaza in ruins. Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 74,200 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. A ceasefire began on October 10, 2025, but Israeli strikes continue. The ministry says 1,460 people have died since it began. The Israeli military says it acts precisely against threats.
According to the United Nations, about 1.9 million people, roughly 90 percent of Gaza’s population, have lost their homes. About 1.2 million live in tents or makeshift shelters. Israel still does not allow international journalists to enter Gaza and report freely.
