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Israelis Mourn Victims of Oct. 7 Hamas Attacks on 2nd Anniversary; Bereaved Mother Says ‘Time Has Stood Still Since’

Yasushi Kaneko / The Yomiuri Shimbun
Anat Magnazi holds up a photograph of her son Amit, who died in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, at a memorial service in Reim, Israel, on Tuesday.

By Yasushi Kaneko / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

1:00 JST, October 9, 2025

REIM, Israel — Bereaved families gathered at memorial services held across Israel on Tuesday and mourned the deaths of their loved ones, as the nation marked two years since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

The attack sparked a war between Israel and the Islamic militant group in the Gaza Strip.

At the memorial services, family members of people held hostage by Hamas called for their release.

Hamas members crossed from Gaza into Israel in the early hours of Oct. 7, 2023. At an open-air music festival held in Reim, just 5 kilometers from the Gaza border, 383 people were killed.

More than 1,000 people, including bereaved family members, gathered at the site of the festival on Tuesday morning and observed a minute of silence. As a reminder for future generations, the festival stage and other structures have been left standing. Photographs of the victims are being displayed there along with descriptions of their lives.

Anat Magnezi, 56, lost her son Amit in the attack. He was 22 years old.

“He was like the sun. Time has stood still since that day. The light in my heart will never return,” Magnezi said, holding a photo of her son in her arms.