Photo Gallery: Israel Commemorates October 7 Anniversary

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Israelis held a day of mourning on Tuesday, commemorating two years since the October 7 Hamas attack that ignited regional conflict. Memorial events and gatherings took place nationwide.

At the location of the Nova music festival in southern Israel, where more than 370 individuals were killed, and several hostages were taken by militants, friends and family members gathered to light candles and observe a moment of silence to honor those who perished.

This occurred as Hamas and Israeli representatives engaged in indirect discussions in Egypt, aiming to resolve the two-year-long conflict. These talks are part of a peace initiative proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump last week, which includes exchanging hostages in Gaza for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.

A woman holds a bunch of sunflowers at a memorial site for victims of the October 7 attack, where signs are seen with pictures of victims and writing about them.

The former site of the Nova music festival has become a memorial for the victims of the attack. Source: Getty / Chris McGrath

A large rally was scheduled in Tel Aviv to call for the release of the remaining hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza, while smaller, unofficial commemorations were held around the country. The day coincided with the beginning of Sukkot, a religious holiday in Israel.

Orit Baron, who lost her daughter Yuval and her daughter’s fiancé Moshe Shuva at the festival, described October 7 as a “dark” day for her family to the Agence France-Presse news agency.

Two people stand in front of a memorial for October 7 victims, which has pictures, flowers and other items. The woman is lighting a candle.

A woman lights a candle at the Nir Oz Kibbutz cemetery during a ceremony commemorating the anniversary. Source: Getty / Dpa/picture alliance

“Now it’s two years. And I’m here to be with her, because this is the last time that she was alive,” the 57-year-old mother said at the site of the attack, adding she felt “that right now she’s with me here”.

A woman in military garb stands in front of a sign showing a victim of the October 7 attack in Israel. Many other placards are visible around her, each with flowers, images and writing about the victims.

Alma Shahaf, an Israeli soldier, mourns at a memorial for a friend killed at the Nova festival. Source: Getty / Chris McGrath

In an attack that shocked the world two years ago, Hamas fighters breached the Gaza-Israel border, storming southern Israeli communities and a desert music festival with gunfire, rockets and grenades.

According to the Israeli government, more than 200 hostages were taken during the incident, with 47 remaining in Gaza. The Israeli military reports that 25 hostages have died.

A woman wearing an Israeli flag on her back stands in front of a fountain and images of October 7 victims that have been placed there.

People placed pictures of Israeli victims at the fountain of Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv. Source: EPA / Abir Sultan

In Tel Aviv, flowers and images were placed in Dizengoff Square to commemorate victims and hostages.

Two people embrace at a memorial for the October 7 victims beside a fountain in Tel Aviv.

People embrace at a memorial in Tel Aviv. A rally was planned for later in the city. Source: AAP / Emilio Morenatti/AP

After two years of war, 72 per cent of the Israeli public said they were dissatisfied with the government’s handling of the war, according to a recent survey by the Institute for National Security Studies.

A woman carrying a rifle places images at a memorial for victims of the October 7 attack.

A woman carrying a rifle places photos of Israelis who were killed at a memorial in Tel Aviv. Source: AAP / Emilio Morenatti/AP

A state-organised commemoration of the attack is planned for 16 October after the Sukkot holiday period ends.

More than 1,200 Israelis, most of them civilians, were killed in the attack. It was the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust.

The subsequent two-year war has killed more than 66,000 people in Gaza, according to its health ministry, with many of those still alive exhausted, displaced and hungry — with little hope of the war ending even as peace efforts resume.