Memorials and protests across Israel

Three years after the 7 October 2023 attacks, Israel held nationwide events remembering the 1,200 victims killed and 251 hostages abducted by Hamas. Ceremonies began at 6:29, the minute sirens sounded in 2023, across kibbutzim, cemeteries, and the Nova music festival site. In Tel Aviv, 50,000 people gathered in Yarkon Park for a central memorial featuring musician Arkadi Duchin beside stage replicas of destroyed festival structures and homes. Maurice Shnaider spoke of losing five family members, including his niece Shiri Bibas and her children Ariel and Kfir, who died in captivity. Protesters also gathered outside the Knesset in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv, demanding a state inquiry into government and security failures ahead of national elections on 27 October 2026.

The military and financial toll of three years of war

The ensuing three years of war have imposed severe human and economic consequences. In an anniversary interview, Israel's ambassador to Portugal, Oren Rozenblat, noted that domestic public debt rose from 59% to 68% of GDP, with military outlays reaching approximately $100 billion. Rozenblat also endorsed the creation of an official commission of inquiry. In Gaza, the health ministry reported that Israeli military action has killed more than 74,200 people since October 2023. Although negotiators approved a ceasefire in October 2025, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,460 people in the territory since that accord.

Rozenblat described the lasting trauma of the attacks:

“October 7 changed Israel, changed the Middle East and has global influence. We live with it every day.”

Deadly strikes in Gaza on the anniversary

Israeli military strikes killed five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, with detonations audible across the border during memorials. Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital confirmed two deaths from overnight raids in Jabalia, including 23-year-old Civil Defence volunteer Mohamed Tamus. The Israeli military stated that it killed two Hamas fighters who exited Kamal Adwan hospital after placing explosives near the Yellow Line division zone. In Khan Yunis, Nasser hospital reported three fatalities, including 60-year-old Hisham Ibrahim Abu Mustafa, Ziad Zaarab, and a victim struck at an Al Buraq camp tent.

Gaza City resident Mahmoud Abou Hassira described conditions in the territory:

“After three years of siege, massacres and destruction, Israel has turned the Gaza Strip into an uninhabitable place, destroying everything.”

European commemorations and antisemitism concerns

Events across Italy commemorated victims while addressing rising antisemitism. In Milan, activists placed 1,200 stones spelling out the date alongside 1,200 white roses in Piazza della Scala. At the Milan synagogue, community leaders joined lawmakers, municipal councillor Martina Riva, and Senator for Life Liliana Segre to demand passage of a national antisemitism bill. Pollster Alessandra Ghisleri reported that 50% of Italians worry about antisemitism, with concern reaching 60% among those over 65, 51.4% for ages 45 to 64, 44.5% for ages 25 to 44, and 28.4% for ages 18 to 24. In Alessandria, the Associazione Italia Israele installed four panels outside the local synagogue documenting testimonies and Human Rights Watch findings to counter denialism.

18-2428.4%

25-4444.5%

45-6451.4%

Over 6560%

18-24

28.4 %

25-44

44.5 %

45-64

51.4 %

Over 65

60 %

Data from the article text

Walker Meghnagi, president of Milan's Jewish community, addressed safety concerns:

“It is one thing to criticise a government, to criticise a minister. But it is another thing to attack Jews, our children are afraid to go to school.”