Israel marks three years since October 7 Hamas attack – in pictures

Israel is marking three years since October 7 attack, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 more taken hostage. Events are taking place across Israel the country and the world. The anniversary of the attack started this morning with a minute silence held at 06:29am local time (04:29am BST), the time Hamas militants launched their attack. Further ceremonies will take place throughout the day, including at Reim – the site of the Nova music festival where more than 378 people were killed, and 44 taken hostage. On October 7th, Hamas attacked military bases and stormed through multiple kibbutzim – small villages – near the Gaza border, burning homes and killing civilians. One kibbutz, Nir Oz, saw 41 people killed and 76 kidnapped out of its 400-strong community. Shorts Hundreds were killed and abducted at the site of the Nova music festival, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg / AP) A soldier from the observatory unit of Israel Defense Forces (IDF), pays tribute at the memorial site on a hill by Nahal Oz, in southern Israel (Photo: Ilia Yefimovich / Getty ) Similar memorials have taken place across the world, with hundred gathering at dawn in Sydney, Australia. Israel’s ambassador to Australia Hillel Newman told the crowd that behind every person killed on October 7 was “a face and a family”, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). He also said “there is a direct line between the shooting at Nova [the music festival targeted by Hamas] and the shooting at Bondi”. On 14 December 2025, 15 people were killed during an antisemitic attack on a Hanukah celebration at Bondi, Sydney. An Israeli soldier crouches to light a candle at the memorial (Photo: John Wessels / Getty) This morning, Andy Burnham assured Britain’s Jewish community that “we stand with you” against anti-semitism on the third anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel. The Prime Minister described a rise in antisemitic behaviour in the UK since 2023 as “disturbing”, but pledged his Government is “committed to protecting our citizens from vile hatred”. Israel responded to the deadliest attacks on Jews since the Holocaust by launching an extensive military offensive in Gaza which has killed at least 74,200 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health. People attend a memorial service in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, southern Israel, where many community members were killed and abducted (Photo: Ariel Schalit / AP) Last year, the world’s leading association of genocide scholars declared that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. Israel has regularly denied its actions in Gaza amount to genocide and says they are justified as a means of self-defence. A ceasefire came into effect last October, though Israeli airstrikes and attacks on populated areas have continued. This story is being updated.