Israel holds memorials three years after Hamas attack; Re'im ceremony draws 3,000
In short
Memorial ceremonies were held across Israel on October 7 to mark three years since the Hamas surprise attack that started the fighting in Gaza, Japanese outlets reported. At Re'im in the south, where an outdoor music festival was attacked and about 360 people died, more than 3,000 people attended and said the threat from Hamas has not gone away.
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Memorial ceremonies were held across Israel on October 7 to mark three years since the surprise attack by the Islamist group Hamas, which Sankei Shimbun described as the starting point of the fighting in the Palestinian Gaza Strip. Headlines in Sankei Shimbun, Nishi-Nippon Shimbun and Tokyo Shimbun quoted participants as saying the threat remains. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
At Re'im in southern Israel, where an outdoor music festival site was attacked and about 360 people died, more than 3,000 people took part in the ceremony, according to the Kyodo report carried by Sankei. Participants said the threat from Hamas has not gone away. The ceremony began at around 6:30 p.m.; relatives and friends observed a moment of silence and lit candles, and some broke down in tears when music began to play. [ 1 ]
Orit, 58, the mother of Yuval Baron, who was shot dead by Hamas fighters at the age of 25, said her daughter had been four months away from her wedding. Her fiance was also killed, the report said. Orit said Israel remains constantly exposed to danger. [ 1 ]
Yafa Golan, 65, said her daughter was at the festival during the attack and was rescued by police, but took her own life about a year later. She said her daughter had gone through an experience she could not bear, and that her only hope now is to share grief with survivors of the attack and help one another. [ 1 ]
Why it matters
The anniversary coverage in Japanese business papers, carried from Kyodo, frames the attack as the origin of the Gaza fighting and highlights that participants still see Hamas as a threat. It also points to the lasting toll on survivors and bereaved families.
Key facts
- Memorial ceremonies were held across Israel on October 7, three years after the Hamas surprise attack. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The Hamas attack was the starting point of the fighting in the Gaza Strip, Sankei Shimbun reported. [ 1 ]
- About 360 people died when an outdoor music festival site at Re'im in southern Israel was attacked. [ 1 ]
- More than 3,000 people attended the ceremony at Re'im, which began at around 6:30 p.m. [ 1 ]
- Participants said the threat from Hamas has not disappeared. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Orit, the 58-year-old mother of Yuval Baron, who was shot dead at 25, said her daughter had been four months from her wedding; her fiance was also killed. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- The details of the Re'im ceremony, the death toll at the festival and the relatives' accounts. Only one article text, a Kyodo report carried by Sankei Shimbun, gives these details; the other two outlets provided only headlines.