🔗 Share this article

Citizens have come together throughout the country to commemorate 24 months since the Hamas-led offensive on that fateful day in October 2023, as discussions proceeded in the neighboring country over a conclusion to the war in Gaza.

The assault led to over 1,200 people dead and 251 others taken away to Gaza as captives. It was the uniquely most fatal day for Jewish people since the Second World War.

Israel responded by launching a defensive operation in Gaza which has killed in excess of 67,000 people, according to the territory's Hamas-administered health ministry. Its numbers are regarded as accurate by the United Nations and other international bodies.

"The aggressive opponents have caused great damage, but they have not broken us," the prime minister added on that day.

He also vowed to "realize all the aims of the war: the release of all the captured, the destruction of the Hamas regime and the assurance that Gaza will no longer present a risk to Israel".

Memorial Gatherings Across Israel

The government authorities delayed state remembrance events until mid-October - after the completion of the Jewish High Holiday season - but events still took place across the country on that day.

A commemorative event for the loved ones of Israelis killed in the Hamas attack was organized in Tel Aviv. Organized by the affected families, it was aired across Israeli TV networks.

A period earlier, a moment of silence was respected around the country.

Negotiation Meetings in Egypt

Meanwhile, the conflicting parties' representatives gathered in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh for a continuing round of indirect talks to examine the terms of the agreement.

A prominent Palestinian official involved in the talks revealed that an night meeting of mediated discussions started at 19:00 Cairo time.

The representative said the morning session finished without concrete outcomes, due to differences over the suggested Israeli retreat arrangements from Gaza and over assurances Hamas demands to guarantee Israel does not restart fighting after the initial stage of the arrangement.

He noted that the talks are "challenging and have still not produce any real breakthrough," but noted that intermediaries are making efforts to close the disparities between the conflicting groups.

Key Matters in Negotiations

• An enduring halt to fighting
• The trade of the captives still held by Hamas for detainees from Gaza
• The withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza
• Measures for humanitarian aid deliveries
• Post-war administration of the area

Citizen Feeling

In the city's public square previously, 29-year-old Hagar - whose brother endured the incident on the gathering, where hundreds were killed and dozens more were captured by Hamas gunmen - told: "Nowhere feels like home now and until all the hostages come back no one will be secure."

"When we see everybody home returned, we can relax again. Then we can start to recover," she added.

Outside the leader's official dwelling in Jerusalem, people gathered to show their solidarity for the families of the abducted. Israel reports 48 stay in confinement in Gaza, approximately twenty of whom are believed to be surviving.

Protester Atalia Regev remarked: "We need do every compromise needed for the hostages to come back home. But we sincerely need promises that we will be protected."

Opinion polls now consistently show that around 70% of Israelis desire the conflict to end in exchange for the liberation of the abducted.

Palestinian Circumstances

At the site of the gathering, mourners gathered to remember the victims.

From the site, the boom of Israeli air strikes and explosions could be detected just a short distance away in Gaza, where observers reported the heavy Israeli attacks continued.

In Gaza City, bombardments were noted in the morning of that day in the west side district, sector and Nasr areas and in the eastern district of Sheikh Radwan, as well the camp to the north-west.

"Once the night falls, the dread arrives with it," displaced urban resident a mother, whose young son was lost his life by an Israeli air strike earlier, shared.

"My family are terrified of the bombings. During nighttime we are sleeping together, holding each other, especially my smallest child who rests his face on me throughout the night."

"Constantly we check the updates to see the situation. And I'm afraid that this halt will not be completed and that the war will return to us."

Medical Crisis

Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City said it had received the corpses of several people by the midday, including several who died in an Israeli strike in the southern area.

Nasser hospital in the southern urban center of that area indicated additional dead people had been transported. An individual was lost his life by Israeli troops while attempting to get assistance to the south, medics reported.

The territory's health ministry said 25 of the {territ