People around the world were holding vigils, ceremonies and protests to mark the first anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, as fighting raged on in the enclave on Monday.
The militants killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages to Gaza on Oct. 7 last year, according to Israeli figures. Nearly 42,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities, and most of the 2.3-million-strong population displaced.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations were held in cities from Jakarta to Istanbul to Buenos Aires on Sunday, following protests on Saturday in European capitals as well as Washington and New York.
ISRAEL
Ceremonies and protests in Israel began at about 6:29 a.m., the time when Hamas-led militants launched rockets into Israel at the start of the Oct. 7 attack last year.
In Jerusalem, families of hostages took to the streets near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence.
At the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of partygoers and staff were killed and scores of others taken hostage, President Isaac Herzog joined grieving families and friends.
Mourners listened to the last track that was played before it was stopped abruptly, just as it did a year ago at sunrise. “This is where she was, this is where she was happy in the last of her moments. It was here,” said Anat Regev, the aunt of one of the festival goers killed in the attack.
In Tel Aviv, people stood still while others blew the Shofar – a ram’s horn used in Jewish religious ceremonies – to mark the anniversary.
GAZA
No formal events were planned in Gaza on Monday. Israeli forces mounted air and ground offensives in several areas of Gaza, saying they were attacking Hamas militants and command centres.
Hamas’ armed wing fired a missile salvo at Tel Aviv, the group said in statement, with the Israeli military saying sirens were sounded in central Israel.
In a speech to mark the anniversary, Khaled Meshaal, who leads the group’s political office in exile in Qatar, urged Arab and Muslim countries to launch “new fronts of resistance” against Israel.
Gazans told Reuters they yearned to go back to their normal lives before the war.
“Before Oct. 7, one had dreams. As a father, I have six children, my biggest burden was how to provide them with homes and get them married. But after Oct. 7, this came to nothing. After 58 years of work for me, same as my father – all of it has gone to dust and rocks,” Abu Hassan Shaheen said.
UNITED STATES
U.S. President Joe Biden condemned the “unspeakable brutality” of the Oct. 7 attack, paid tribute to the people including American citizens killed and kidnapped, and said he remained committed to Israel’s right to defend itself a year on.
He added in a statement: “I believe that history will also remember October 7th as a dark day for the Palestinian people because of the conflict that Hamas unleashed that day … We will not stop working to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza.”
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said: “We all must ensure nothing like the horrors of October 7 ever happen again. I will do everything in my power to ensure that the threat Hamas poses is eliminated.”
She added: “I am heartbroken over the scale of death and destruction in Gaza over the past year – tens of thousands of lives lost, children fleeing for safety over and over again, mothers and fathers struggling to obtain food, water, and medicine. It is far past time for a hostage and ceasefire deal to end the suffering of innocent people.”
AUSTRALIA
At Sydney’s Bondi Beach, participants holding Israeli and Australian flags listened in silence to a reading of the names of the hostages still held by Hamas. Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in Sydney on Sunday.
THAILAND
In a church in northeastern Thailand, the Sriaoun family gathered on Sunday to pray for the safe return of their oldest son, Watchara Sriaoun, 32, one of six Thais believed to be held captive by Hamas since the war began.
GERMANY
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Israel in a statement: “We feel with you the horror, the pain, the uncertainty and the sadness. We stand by your side … The Hamas terrorists must be fought.”
He also mentioned the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, saying “people need hope and perspectives if they are to renounce terror”.
BRITAIN
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement: “One year on from these horrific attacks we must unequivocally stand with the Jewish community and unite as a country.
“We will not falter in our pursuit of peace and on this day of pain and sorrow, we honour those we lost, and continue in our determination to return those still held hostage, help those who are suffering, and secure a better future for the Middle East.”
FRANCE
President Emmanuel Macron said on X: “The pain remains, as vivid as it was a year ago. The pain of the Israeli people. Ours. The pain of wounded humanity. We do not forget the victims, the hostages, or the families with broken hearts from absence or waiting.”
(Reuters)