Israelis on Wednesday mourned the victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, gathering at massacre sites and memorials three years after the deadliest day in the Jewish state’s history. Families and survivors returned to southern Israel, including the site of the Nova music festival near Reim, where more than 350 people were killed in and around the festival grounds as Hamas-led terrorists stormed across the Gaza border. At 6:29 a.m. — the moment the first rockets were launched three years ago — relatives embraced and remembered loved ones, NPR reported.
The attack killed about 1,200 people and resulted in 251 being taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. This year marks the first Oct. 7 anniversary since all the hostages, living and dead, were returned from Gaza. For former hostage Elkana Bohbot, 37, Wednesday was his first Oct. 7 anniversary in Israel since his release after 738 days in Hamas captivity. Bohbot, kidnapped from the Nova festival, said he spent much of his captivity underground, deprived of food, and forced to participate in Hamas propaganda videos.
