🔗 Share this article

People have gathered across the country to mark two years since the Hamas-led attack on October 7th, 2023, as talks advanced in Egypt over a conclusion to the hostilities in Gaza.

The incident led to in excess of 1,200 people dead and 251 others taken back to Gaza as captives. It was the single most lethal day for Jewish people since the Holocaust.

Israel reacted by initiating a defensive operation in Gaza which has taken over 67,000 people, according to the territory's Hamas-controlled health ministry. Its statistics are regarded as trustworthy by the UN and other international bodies.

"The bloodthirsty adversaries have hit us hard, but they have not defeated us," Benjamin Netanyahu remarked on that day.

He also vowed to "achieve all the objectives of the war: the homecoming of all the captured, the removal of the Hamas regime and the promise that Gaza will not create a danger to Israel".

Memorial Gatherings Across Israel

The government authorities delayed official remembrance events until 16 October - after the conclusion of the Jewish High Holiday season - but ceremonies still were held around the country on Tuesday.

A memorial ceremony for the loved ones of people killed in the Hamas assault was conducted in the coastal city. Arranged by the victims' relatives, it was televised throughout Israeli TV networks.

Some time earlier, a moment of silence was respected across the country.

Ceasefire Meetings in Egypt

Simultaneously, the conflicting parties' negotiating teams gathered in the Egyptian coastal city of the negotiation venue for a continuing round of third-party negotiations to discuss the terms of the plan.

A high-ranking Palestinian official involved in the discussions said that an night meeting of indirect talks started at 19:00 Cairo time.

The official stated the morning session concluded without significant progress, because of disagreements over the recommended Israeli pullout plans from Gaza and over safeguards Hamas wants to ensure Israel does not resume hostilities after the initial stage of the arrangement.

He added that the discussions are "challenging and have still not achieve any significant progress," but mentioned that facilitators are working hard to narrow the disparities between the two sides.

Critical Points in Discussions

• An enduring truce
• The trade of the captives still kept by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners from Gaza
• The withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza
• Arrangements for relief supplies provision
• After-conflict governance of the area

Civilian Sentiment

In Tel Aviv's memorial area previously, 29-year-old Hagar - whose family member lived through the assault on the outdoor event, where 378 people were lost their lives and dozens more were taken hostage by Hamas fighters - shared: "No place feels like home any longer and until each abducted person return not a single person will have peace of mind."

"Once we see everybody home again, we can relax anew. Then we can start to rebuild," she concluded.

In front of the prime minister's home in Jerusalem, people assembled to express their support for the loved ones of the abducted. Israel says forty-eight remain in captivity in Gaza, 20 of whom are considered to be surviving.

Protester Atalia Regev explained: "We need do any agreement necessary for the abducted to be released. But we really want promises that we will be safe."

Surveys now consistently show that approximately the majority of Israeli citizens want the hostilities to finish in return for the freedom of the abducted.

Gaza Conditions

At the site of the gathering, grieving people came together to honor the dead.

From the site, the boom of aerial bombardments and shelling could be heard just a few kilometres away in Gaza, where observers reported the heavy Israeli attacks continued.

In Gaza City, air and artillery strikes were reported in the early hours of Tuesday in the western district, Rimal and zone neighbourhoods and in the east side neighbourhood of Sheikh Radwan, as well the settlement to the north-west.

"When the night falls, the dread appears with it," relocated Gaza City resident a mother, whose 17-year-old son was lost his life by an Israeli air strike last year, explained.

"Me and my three children are fearful of the attacks. All the night we are lying together, clinging, notably my smallest child who rests his face on me all night."

"Constantly we look at the updates to see the situation. And I'm afraid that this truce will not be completed and that the fighting will return to us."

Humanitarian Situation

The medical facility in Gaza City said it had accepted the bodies of six people by the afternoon, including three who died in an Israeli strike in the southern al-Sabra neighbourhood.

Nasser hospital in the south region of that area reported additional fatalities had been brought there. An individual was lost his life by Israeli forces while attempting to get assistance to the southern area, medics stated.

Gaza's health ministry reported a significant number of the {territ