Israel, other nations honor Oct. 7 victims with somber memorials on 3rd anniversary of attacks

Israel and countries across the world on Wednesday honored victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks with solemn memorials on the third anniversary of the invasion.

Cities around Israel flew flags at half-staff as advocacy groups held remembrance ceremonies — and  anti-government protesters briefly blocked the Ayalon Highway, near Tel Aviv, for a moment of silence,  according to the Times of Israel.

Protesters held the moment of silence at 6:29 a.m., the time when the invasion began,  according to the Times of Israel.

A woman embraces a memorial sign with a photo at the site of the Nova music festival near Reim, southern Israel, Wednesday REUTERS

On Oct. 7. 2023, terrorists abducted 1,200 people, and took 251 hostages to Gaza — on the deadliest day for Jews since the holocaust and the opening salvo of the brutal Israel-Hamas War, according to the outlet.

Released hostage Elkana Bohbot, center, and a Nova festival organizer light a commemorative flame during a memorial Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Re’im, Israel. Getty Images

In Kibbutz Kfar Aza — where roughly  520 terrorists murdered and kidnapped dozens of people — a group held a vigil for those killed, with one resident reading off a gut-wrenching roll call of the dead.

“It’s a very emotional day, it’s a very difficult day for our community, three years after October 7,” Zion Regev, a community leader, said of the vigil.

Nearby, families praised the heroism of 16 female surveillance soldiers killed at the Nahal Oz military outpost.

Raz Zarfati, sister of Ron Zarfati who was killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, attends a memorial marking the third anniversary of the attack at the Nova music festival site near Kibbutz Reim. AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg

“At 6:29 a.m. three years ago, when the gates of hell were opened, none of us could have imagined that the worst thing possible would occur,” said Dror Ashram, whose daughter, Sgt. Shay Ashram, was killed.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett and others also paid respects at the site of the Nova music festival site, where hundreds of concert-goers were murdered and abducted by Hamas.

People hold aloft placards as they attend a memorial service to mark the third anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel in central London. AFP via Getty Images

“We stand here three years later, and there is no forgiveness, and there never will be, for the loss of our girls. For the hell they went through in their final moments, for the failures, for the abandonment of them and of us. We will not forget and we will not forgive,” he said.

Meanwhile, The Israeli Embassy hosted an official memorial event at Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington, DC as community centers, and synagogues in New York City held heartfelt vigils.

Jewish community members and supporters also gathered for a solemn vigil outside Downing Street and protests in London, according to the BBC.

In France, victims and survivors of Oct. 7 were honored by members of the European parliament.

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