Jerusalem: Israel on Wednesday commemorated the third anniversary of Hamas' October 7 attack, with Israelis gathering for memorial ceremonies and protests against the government's handling of the attack, amid deep internal divisions and unresolved questions about the war.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorists killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 in Israel, which retaliated by launching a major military offensive in Gaza, in which more than 74,200 people have been killed.
The attack challenged the Jewish state's long-standing image of a country that prides itself on its intelligence and technological superiority.
Commemorative ceremonies began at 6.29 am, matching the time the attack began three years ago, with survivors and bereaved families gathering at Kibbutz Re'im, the site of the Nova music festival, where terrorists massacred 378 people and took 44 hostages to Gaza.
Official state ceremonies commemorating the attack took place on Monday, the Hebrew memorial date set by the government.
The main ceremony, organised by survivors and bereaved families, is being held at Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park.
The ceremonies also carried strong political overtones, with participants at several key locations expressing outrage at the government's failures and its stance against an independent enquiry by constituting a state commission of inquiry.
At a gathering near the Knesset (Israeli parliament), Gal Goren, whose parents Avner and Maya were killed on October 7 and whose bodies were taken to Gaza, addressed the demonstrators and raised several questions, stressing: "What do you say about three years of guilt, shame and regret?"
The iconic fountain in Dizengoff Square, in the heart of Tel Aviv, was painted red on Wednesday morning.
Protesters brought the burned-out shells of cars belonging to victims of the Nova music festival massacre to the demonstration outside the Knesset.
Protests were also held outside the homes of senior politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Caesarea, his official residence in Jerusalem, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana's home in Tel Aviv, Justice Minister Yariv Levin's home in Modi'in and Education Minister Yoav Kisch's home in Hod Hasharon.
Activists from the social democratic and Zionist political party 'Young Democrats' arrived outside Netanyahu's residence at 6:29 am, "to make sure that this time, three years after the terrible massacre, Netanyahu wakes up", supporters said.
They were mocking the recent allegations that the Israeli prime minister was too late in acting on the information of the attacks passed on to him that morning three years ago.
Memorials and demonstrations are scheduled to continue throughout the day. At noon, a nationwide minute of remembrance will be observed, an initiative organised by the October Council and civil society groups, with hospitals, universities, schools, local authorities, businesses and other organisations taking part.
As the war enters its fourth year, fatigue, financial instability, personal losses, acute manpower shortage and unresolved questions about the war's goals have raised several internal issues in Israel, with sharp divisions emerging in the society.
Several analysts and the public have regularly raised the question that, despite the prolonged war, Hamas has not been disarmed, its future in Gaza remains unsettled, and the question of who will govern Gaza remains unanswered.
Another issue debated within Israel in connection with the ongoing war is that of 'burden sharing', with those serving in the army and largely contributing to Israel's economy questioning the alleged diversion of resources to appease the ultra-Orthodox, which they say dodges the draft and uses its numbers to control the government.
The approaching general elections, scheduled for October 27, have put a spotlight on the issue.
It has become the opposition's main electoral plank, and leaders in the anti-Netanyahu bloc have promised to get rid of this privilege for the ultra-Orthodox if brought to power.
The government has urged patience, stressing that change will take time, but a huge chunk of the population is up in arms.
For Netanyahu, the ultra-Orthodox bloc has been a reliable partner for decades and will be almost impossible to take any tough stand against them or even to push them aside.
In a deeply divided polity that revolves around him, and in which elections can be seen as a referendum on his rule, their support is vital to his chances of survival.
The turmoil created by protests among the draft-reluctant ultra-Orthodox population and the onslaught of the right-wing Jewish settler community against the Palestinians in the West Bank has created internal rifts and evoked international criticism, but Netanyahu seems to have no plausible answers to either problem.
Even before the October 7 attacks, Israel witnessed unrest in the form of almost year-long protests, with hundreds of thousands of protesters gathering every weekend across the country to question the government's judicial overhaul initiative, which many thought was a move to undermine the independence of the courts.
As Israelis reflect on the deep scars of October 7, Netanyahu's main challenger, Gadi Eisenkot, a former minister and Chief of Staff, is gaining support by promising to heal, protect and revive the country.
Hamas, which launched the multi-front attack — by air, land and sea — called October 7 an ‘extraordinary military achievement’, in a statement on Wednesday, the Times of Israel reported.