REIM, Israel — On Tuesday, thousands gathered in southern Israel to honor those lost, as the country observed the two-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7, which sparked a destructive war. Meanwhile, discussions between Israel and Hamas continued indirectly in Egypt, aiming for a peaceful resolution.

The primary commemoration, organized independently by grieving families, stands apart from the government-led ceremony planned for next week, following the Hebrew calendar. This separation highlights a profound division over the leadership of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who many hold responsible for failing to establish a ceasefire to release the remaining hostages held by Hamas.

In the Gaza Strip, where Israel’s counterattack has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands and leveled towns and cities, people flee another Israeli incursion into Gaza City, while some remain in their homes. The journey south, though, is too daunting and expensive for many.

The worst attack in Israel’s history

Two years have gone by since a large number of Hamas militants launched a surprise rocket attack, devastating southern Israel. They overran military bases, farms, and an outdoor music event, killing roughly 1,200 individuals, mostly civilians, including women, children, and the elderly.

Hamas also kidnapped 251 people; most have been released through ceasefires or other agreements. However, 48 hostages remain in Gaza, with Israel believing about 20 are still alive. Hamas demands a lasting ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal for their release. Netanyahu, however, is committed to ongoing conflict until all hostages are freed and Hamas is disarmed.

This attack initiated a series of events that escalated Israel’s conflict with Iran and its regional allies, like Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which incurred significant casualties. The United States allied with Israel in targeting Iran’s military and nuclear sectors during a 12-day war in June.

Israel has killed several top militants as well as Iranian generals and nuclear scientists, and it has vastly depleted the military capabilities of its enemies while seizing control over most of Gaza as well as parts of Lebanon and Syria.

But the failure to return the hostages has left the country deeply divided, with weekly mass protests against Netanyahu. Israel is more isolated internationally than it has been in decades.

A memorial at the scene of a massacre

Nearly 400 Israelis were killed and dozens abducted from the Nova music festival in the border community of Reim. Over the last two years, it has emerged as a memorial site, with portraits of the kidnapped and fallen affixed to Israeli flags.

There’s no official ceremony at the Nova site, due to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which coincides with the anniversary. Yet, scores of people at the site shared memories of relatives and friends who were killed, weaving through hundreds of photos encircling the spot where DJ booth stood. At 6:29 am, the exact time the attack began, the music – the same track that revelers were listening to at the time – stopped for a moment of silence.

People embraced and spoke of their loss. Alon Muskinov, 28, who was at the festival and lost three of his closest friends, said the survivors live with the horrors of that day.

“We are reliving this every day anew, every day we remember them,” he said.

Yehuda Rahmani, whose daughter Sharon – a police officer at the festival – was also among those killed, said he visits the Nova site daily, to be at the last place where she was alive.

To this day, Rahmani keeps hoping he will run into a survivor who could tell him about his daughter’s last moments. He is angry at the government for not launching an inquiry into security failures of that day.

“When you don’t know what happened, it makes it so much harder,” he said.

Meanwhile, explosions echoed from Gaza and smoke billowed over the strip. The army said a rocket was launched from northern Gaza in the morning, but no damage or injuries were reported.

In Tel Aviv, the main memorial ceremony got underway, organized by Yonatan Shamriz, whose brother Alon was among three hostages mistakenly killed by Israeli forces after they escaped captivity early in the war.

Shay Dickmann, who lost her aunt outside her house in Kibbutz Be’eri on the day of the attack while her cousin, Carmel Gat, was taken hostage by Hamas and killed 11 months later, said all everyone wants is for the war to end.

“There is a deal on the table, there is an opportunity to end this war and bring everybody back home,” she said. “We all deserve it, we deserve it, our neighbors deserve it, we want this war to end and all to come back to their homes.”

Israel and Hamas discuss Trump peace plan

In neighboring Egypt, in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Israel and Hamas held indirect talks Monday to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan. The talks were to continue Tuesday.

The war has already killed over 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants. It says women and children make up around half the dead, and many independent experts say its figures are the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

Israel’s offensive has displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population of some 2 million, often multiple times, and restrictions on humanitarian aid have contributed to a severe hunger crisis, with experts saying Gaza City is experiencing famine.

Experts and major rights groups have accused Israel of genocide, and the International Criminal Court is seeking the arrest of Netanyahu and his former defense minister for using starvation as a method of war.

Israel vehemently denies the allegations, saying it is waging a lawful war of self-defense and taking extraordinary measures to avoid harming civilians. It blames Hamas for the death and destruction in Gaza because the militants are deeply embedded in populated areas.

Hamas portrayed the Oct. 7 attack as a response to decades of Israeli land seizures, settlement construction and military occupation. But the attack has exacted a catastrophic toll on the Palestinians, whose dream of an independent state appears more distant than ever.

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Associated Press journalists Areej Hazboun in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, contributed to this report.