Katya Emelianova kneels beside a portrait of Eden Gez, who was killed at the Nova Festival by Hamas militants in the Oct. 7 attack, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (The New York Times) Israel marked the second anniversary of the Hamas-led attack that began its longest war in subdued fashion Tuesday, with new hopes of ending the conflict but with hostages still in captivity and its exhausted military adding to the death toll of Palestinians and to the destruction in the Gaza Strip.
The arrival of the Jewish harvest festival, Sukkot, a national and religious holiday, shut down most businesses across Israel for the day. The government delayed official remembrances of the war’s traumatic first day until Oct. 16, after the High Holiday season.
But Tuesday’s milestone was inescapable.
There were quiet gatherings at some of the kibbutzim near Gaza that suffered the most in the massacres of Oct. 7, 2023, and informal events drew participants throughout the country.
Many Israelis say that the sun has still not set on that October day. At nightfall Tuesday, tens of thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv’s central park for the anniversary’s main memorial event, an emotional ceremony organized by families of the victims that was screened live on national television and at dozens of locations around the country and abroad.
Earlier Tuesday, hundreds of Israelis came to Hostages Square in the center of Tel Aviv, silently meditating over art installations and memorials to those still captive and citizens killed on Oct. 7 or while in captivity. Israel believes that about 20 living hostages are still being held in Gaza along with the remains of 28 others who died in captivity.
Tzlil Sasson, 38, and her husband had driven from Lehavim, east of Gaza, with their three young children.
“It was important for us as parents to bring them here, to remember, and to pray,” she said. “Maybe, in a couple of days, the hostages will be free — we hope.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the anniversary in a statement issued after sundown. “Our bloodthirsty enemies have hurt us badly,” he said, “but they did not break us. Before long, they discovered the enormous strength of the nation of Israel.”
The nighttime ceremony in Tel Aviv, funded by donations, began with a minute’s silence and included prayers, readings and performances by survivors of the assault, bereaved relatives and some of Israel’s most celebrated artists.
