The Israeli public Gather to Mark 24 Months Since October 7th Hamas Attack

On Tuesday, Israelis plan to convene throughout the nation to commemorate the second anniversary of the October 7 assault, where Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages through an offensive against southern Israel.

Community-led Commemorations and Rallies

Local remembrance events will be held in the small kibbutzim of Israel's south whose members were killed or kidnapped, and a major demonstration is planned in Israel's coastal metropolis to call for the liberation of the hostages still held from confinement under Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The official national ceremony of memorial will be held on 16 October in Israel’s national cemetery on the hill of Herzl following the Jewish holiday of the Rejoicing of the Torah.

Collective Trauma and Ongoing Impact

The remembrance of the shared distress of the assault 24 months prior – the deadliest single attack in the history of Israel – continues to cast a shadow throughout the nation. The faces of hostages remaining in custody in the coastal enclave are plastered on public transport stations around the country, and dwellings that were lit on fire by armed individuals as they raided communal settlements remain burned and deserted.

A multitude of those who lived through the incident during the Nova music festival joined a commemoration on the past Sunday with previously detained individuals and the relatives of those lost.

“This angel could have turned their 27th birthday today. I relive the moment as though it happened an hour ago,” a grieving parent, the father of his child Idan lost his life at the festival, stated beneath a tribute featuring victims’ faces.

Negotiation Prospects

The commemoration has been eclipsed by expectations that the conflict in Gaza might be approaching conclusion. Delegates from the opposing factions gathered in the Arab Republic on recent Monday where they started mediated discussions to resolve the terms of the return of all hostages held in Gaza and the return of around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, along with the preliminary retreat of Israel's military forces from Gaza.

This set of talks, while still distant from a resolution, has produced increased hope than previous negotiation attempts following the previous cessation of hostilities collapsed in mid-March.

Benjamin Netanyahu has said he aims to declare the freeing of captives “in the coming days”, while the ex-leader has threatened Hamas with “total obliteration” in case the arrangement fails to materialize.

Public Pressure

Some commemoration events have been repurposed to rallies to demand the administration to reach a deal to bring the hostages home and end the war. At a rally in the public space for captives in the city on recent Saturday, families insisted the prime minister approve Trump’s plan to stop the hostilities in the territory.

Gaza's Reality

Inside the territory, residents are waiting with bated breath to see if a ceasefire takes place. Regardless of Trump’s demands that the nation halt airstrikes the strip in anticipation of a hostage release, attacks on Gaza are ongoing. The strip's medical administration said at least 19 people were killed by Israel over the last 24 hours, comprising two individuals seeking aid.

The upcoming Tuesday will also mark the two-year point of the start of the nation's armed offensive on the Palestinian territory, which has caused infrastructural and civilian damage to the residents.

More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed and around one hundred seventy thousand have been wounded by Israeli forces in the strip, per the strip's medical office. At least 460 people have succumbed to hunger in Gaza, and the world’s leading authority on hunger emergencies has said a mass starvation is developing in areas of the territory – a result of what most aid agencies claim is an blockade by Israel on the strip. The Israeli government has rejected the allegation.

A United Nations investigative body, various civil liberties associations and the global leading organization of academics studying mass atrocities have said the nation has committed genocide in the strip throughout the previous two years. Israel has denied the accusation and said its actions are defensive measures.