On the morning of October 7, 2023, in what became the deadliest attack against Jewish people since the Holocaust, about 6,000 Hamas terrorists and members of other groups invaded Israel from Gaza. They brutally attacked the Nova music festival, numerous IDF bases and posts, and dozens of Israeli civilian communities, which included multiple Kibbutzim like Be’eri, Kfar Aza, and Nir Oz, near the Gaza border, burning them down. The invading terrorists massacred at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, who were shot, mutilated, burned, tortured, raped, and decapitated or dismembered, among them babies and children, the elderly, the disabled, men and women. The terrorists further kidnapped 251 people, including internationals and non-Jewish people. Among those kidnapped were the Bibas Shiri Bibas and her two baby children, Ariel and Kfir, who were strangled to death after being taken hostage.
Following a detailed report by Israel’s Health Ministry, it was discovered that under Hamas captivity, Israeli hostages detailed sexual violence and torture at the hands of the terrorist group. The treatment by captors included severe beatings, branding, sexual violence, food and water deprivation, hair-pulling, humiliation, and isolation. According to the report, half of those who returned were starved, according to the medical data. Two of the children who returned reported being tied together, and two others had signs of branding that witnesses who returned said were intentionally inflicted. Upon their retrieval, some also displayed signs of overfeeding, evidence that the terrorists attempted to improve the hostages’ appearance and weight before being shown to the public. There will be numerous ceremonies and remembrances throughout Israel today; its leaders warn to be on heightened alert against possible terror attacks.
On the morning of the third anniversary of the October 7th Massacre, President Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog Light Memorial Candles at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem
The Herzogs lit the candle to open the day’s commemorative events marking three years since the October 7th Massacre