(TNND) — Israel marked the third anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Wednesday in the first commemoration since all of the hostages taken that day have left Gaza, alive or dead.
Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and abducted 251 others during the surprise assault on communities near the Gaza border, military bases and the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023.
The attack set off a war that has transformed Israel, devastated Gaza and reshaped the wider Middle East.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking ahead of the anniversary, remembered those killed in the attack and said Israel had “turned the tables” over the past three years.
Netanyahu said Israel had killed 4,000 of the 6,000 Hamas fighters he said participated in the Oct. 7 assault. He vowed that Israel would find the rest and that Hamas’ rule in Gaza would be eliminated.
“None of them have immunity,” Netanyahu said in remarks posted by his office. “We will reach all of them.”
He also said Hamas, despite being weakened, could try to challenge Israel before the country’s upcoming election and vowed an “overwhelming” response to any such attempt.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio marked the anniversary, saying the United States would not forget those killed in the attack, including dozens of Americans.
“Three years ago today, Hamas terrorists tortured, mutilated, and murdered 1,200 innocent civilians in Israel,” Rubio wrote in a post on X. “We will never forget this act of barbarism against an ally.”
For many Israelis, the return of the hostages does not end the grief surrounding Oct. 7. Memorial events were held at the Nova festival site and in communities targeted during the attack, as survivors and relatives of victims continue to mourn those killed.
At the Nova music festival site near Reim, families gathered around photos of relatives killed in the attack and embraced at 6:29 a.m.—the time the first rockets were launched three years earlier. More than 350 people were killed in and around the festival grounds.
The anniversary also comes as Gaza remains devastated by the war that followed. More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and most of the territory’s 2 million residents remain displaced. A ceasefire that took effect last year stopped the heaviest fighting, but Israeli strikes have continued.
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Editor’s note:The Associated Press contributed to this article.