Israel marks Oct. 7 anniversary under shadow of escalating war
Israelis on Monday marked the first anniversary of the devastating Hamas attack that triggered a war which has sparked protest worldwide and risks igniting a far wider conflict in the Middle East.
Ceremonies and protests in Jerusalem and Israel's south began around 06:29 a.m. (0329 GMT), the hour when Hamas-led militants launched rockets into Israel at the start of the Oct. 7 attack last year.
They killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli figures.
Outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home in Jerusalem, around 300 people led by families of hostages holding up photos of their loved ones, observed a minute of silence for the dead as a siren sounded.
"We're still stuck in October 7th, 2023, in one unending day of terror, of fear, of anger, of despair," said Yuval Baron, whose father-in-law Keith Siegel is hostage in Gaza.
