Israelis mark a year since Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack with hostages still in Gaza and war growing around them

Tel Aviv — Israelis were marking a full year Monday since Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, gathering at the sites of some of the atrocities to honor those killed and demand the release of those still held captive in Gaza. For many, it’s hard to believe that 365 days have passed.

“We didn’t close the story. We are still there in that Shabat — in that Saturday,” Batsheva Yahalomi told CBS News just days ago, as she revisited her former home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. 

Her husband is thought to be among the 101 hostages still held in Gaza. Her son was held hostage for 52 days before being released in a prisoner swap with Hamas in November 2023 — one of 105 Israelis freed in exchange for about 180 Palestinians in the only such exchange negotiated during the year of war.

At the Nova Music Festival site in Israel’s southern desert, the last song played before rockets started raining down one year ago was played again Monday as mourners clung to each other. Hamas terrorists murdered more than 360 people at the festival, and that toll climbed yet again on Monday, a year after the slaughter.

The forum for families of the Oct. 7 hostages announced Monday morning that Idan Shtivi, among the dozens of people abducted from the festival, was confirmed to have been killed by Hamas during the attack. His body was taken into Gaza that day, and is still being held there by the group.

The memorial events came as tension continued to rise across the volatile Middle East. Israel carried out more airstrikes inside Lebanon overnight, where its fight against the Hamas-allied group Hezbollah has intensified rapidly since mid-September. 

The Israel Defense Forces said it had also responded to an “immediate threat” of a new Hamas attack in Gaza, the group’s longtime stronghold, striking a hospital there as it intercepted three projectiles fired from the Palestinian territory. 

Israel launched its war on Hamas in Gaza a year ago, within hours of the group’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack.

There were weeks of blistering airstrikes before ground forces went into the densely packed enclave. The Hamas-run Ministry of Health says almost 42,000 people have been killed by Israel’s military operations in Gaza over the last year — by far the deadliest war ever fought between the two sides. 

Some Hezbollah rockets fired from Lebanon made it through Israel’s aerial defense systems overnight, meanwhile, landing in the northern city of Haifa and causing several injuries.

In a statement marking 12 months of what he called “the most just war in all our years,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed “to continue to do whatever it takes to defend the homeland, and to be worthy of the legacy of our loved ones, our fallen comrades — citizens and soldiers.”