Israel marks 7 October anniversary amid Gaza violence — SkimNews
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- Israelis held memorial gatherings on the third anniversary of the 7 October attack, including at the Nova festival site where 378 people were killed and 44 kidnapped (25 later returned alive), and at Kibbutz Kfar Aza where 64 residents were killed and 19 taken hostage.
- Benjamin Netanyahu lit memorial candles and said Israel would 'complete the mission' and 'settle the score with all the murderers,' while separately claiming Israel had killed 4,000 of the 6,000 Palestinians who infiltrated from Gaza.
- Anti-government protesters in Tel Aviv dyed the Dizengoff fountain red and blocked a main highway, demanding the independent state inquiry Netanyahu has refused, citing alleged judicial bias — even as many senior Israeli defence and security officials have resigned or been fired since the attack.
- The US-brokered ceasefire has failed to halt fighting, with more than 1,460 people killed in Gaza since it was struck and at least seven Israeli soldiers killed in the strip over the same period, marking the first 7 October anniversary with no hostages remaining in Gaza.
- International leaders including Germany's Friedrich Merz, the UK prime minister, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, and US President Donald Trump offered condolences, with von der Leyen saying it 'remains ready to help turn today's fragile ceasefire into a durable peace, based on a two-state solution.'
- Gaza's humanitarian crisis persists with an estimated 80% of structures destroyed or ruined, 60 million tonnes of rubble, and 2.1 million people still largely displaced, as displaced Palestinians told the BBC they fear being forced out of Gaza.
- Hamas released a statement calling the 7 October attack a 'historic milestone' in its 'ongoing struggle project' and 'a natural response' to 'bitter suffering' imposed by Israel.
Why it matters: Three years on, Netanyahu's refusal to establish an independent inquiry into the security failures of 7 October — which he has blocked by alleging judicial bias — leaves the accountability question unresolved for bereaved families, resigned officials, and protesters who dyed Tel Aviv's fountain red this week.
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