🔗 Share this article

Citizens have assembled around the country to commemorate 24 months since the Hamas-conducted assault on October 7th, 2023, as talks advanced in the neighboring country over a resolution to the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

The attack led to over 1,200 people killed and 251 others taken away to Gaza as hostages. It was the single deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust.

Israel answered by initiating a military offensive in Gaza which has taken over 67,000 people, as reported by the region's Hamas-controlled health ministry. Its numbers are considered trustworthy by the United Nations and other global organizations.

"The aggressive opponents have caused great damage, but they have not broken us," Benjamin Netanyahu remarked on Tuesday.

He also vowed to "realize all the objectives of the war: the release of all the captured, the destruction of the Hamas regime and the guarantee that Gaza will not create a risk to Israel".

Memorial Gatherings Across Israel

The government authorities postponed official remembrance events until 16 October - after the conclusion of the Jewish High Holiday season - but ceremonies still were held across the country on that day.

A remembrance service for the loved ones of people who died in the Hamas incident was held in the coastal city. Put together by the families themselves, it was televised on Israeli TV networks.

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

Peace Discussions in Egypt

At the same time, the conflicting parties' delegations gathered in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for a second day of third-party negotiations to review the provisions of the proposal.

A senior representative knowledgeable about the discussions indicated that an late session of indirect talks commenced at 19:00 Cairo time.

The source stated the day's discussions finished without concrete outcomes, due to conflicting views over the proposed Israeli retreat arrangements from Gaza and over guarantees Hamas demands to ensure Israel does not resume hostilities after the opening period of the agreement.

He commented that the talks are "difficult and have still not achieve any significant progress," but pointed out that mediators are striving to narrow the gaps between the conflicting groups.

Essential Points in Talks

• A permanent ceasefire
• The trade of the prisoners still detained by Hamas for detainees from Gaza
• The withdrawal of military personnel from Gaza
• Plans for humanitarian aid deliveries
• Post-war administration of the area

Public Reaction

In the city's public square that day, 29-year-old Hagar - whose family member lived through the attack on the gathering, where many attendees were murdered and many more were taken hostage by Hamas gunmen - told: "Nowhere appears as home now and until every captive return not a single person will have peace of mind."

"When we see everyone home again, we can feel relief anew. Then we can commence rebuild," she concluded.

Outside the leader's residence in Jerusalem, people assembled to express their solidarity for the relatives of the hostages. Israel says forty-eight stay in captivity in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

Demonstrator a participant explained: "It's necessary do whatever arrangement needed for the hostages to be released. But we sincerely need guarantees that we will be secure."

Opinion polls now frequently demonstrate that around 70% of the population want the war to finish in return for the release of the captives.

Gaza Circumstances

At the site of Nova festival, those paying respects assembled to remember the victims.

From there, the noise of aerial bombardments and shelling could be heard just a few kilometres away in Gaza, where witnesses reported the intense Israeli bombardment continued.

In the urban center, attacks were documented in the early hours of Tuesday in the western Tal al-Hawa, area and zone districts and in the eastern district of the community, as well the settlement to the north-west.

"Once the dusk arrives, the fear comes with it," evacuated Gaza City resident Emaan al-Wahidi, whose 17-year-old son was died by an Israeli air strike last year, described.

"Me and my three children are terrified of the bombings. All the night we are resting together, holding each other, especially my smallest child who rests his head on me throughout the night."

"Constantly we monitor the updates to see what happened. And I'm concerned that this truce will not be achieved and that the conflict will resume to us."

Humanitarian Situation

The healthcare center in Gaza City said it had received the corpses of six people by the afternoon, including several who died in an Israeli attack in the south part area.

A different healthcare center in the south region of the city said two more victims had been brought there. A person was died by Israeli troops while looking for aid to the southern area, medics said.

The territory's health ministry reported a significant number of the {territ