Summary

  • Israelis are marking three years since the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage

  • Memorial events are taking place across Israel, beginning with a nationwide minute's silence at 06:29 local time (04:29 BST), to mark the time the attacks began

  • People are visiting the site of the Nova music festival, where more than 360 people were killed and dozens taken hostage

  • Vigils will also be held in central London, and elsewhere around the world, later today

  • Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza in response to the 7 October attacks, in which more than 74,200 people have since been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry

  • Israel does not allow international news organisations, including the BBC, into Gaza to report freely

Watch: Israeli flag lowered to half mast at kibbutz Kfar Aza

Live Reporting

Edited by James Chater, with reporting from Lucy Williamson in southern Israel

  1. 'I get a message saying he loves me'

    Lucy Williamson
    Middle East correspondent

    The widow of the deputy commander of Kfar Aza's civil defence unit, who was killed by Hamas gunmen three years ago, describes the moment he stopped answering his phone.

    “My stomach flips and I start to worry,” she says as her voice begins to break with tears.

    “At 7:21, I get a message saying he loves me,” she continues. “It’s the best present I ever got.”

    “After that, I only know things from stories.”

  2. Names of victims read aloud at Kfar Aza

    Lucy Williamson
    Middle East correspondent

    As the sky began to lighten over Kfar Aza, a kibbutz in southern Israel attacked by Hamas, people trickled in twos and threes towards the armoury building.

    The cawing of crows cuts through the regular thud of artillery from Gaza, just a few kilometres away, and the buzz of a military drone overhead.

    In the gloom, a small crowd of residents gathered at the armoury where seven members of the kibbutz’s civil defence unit were attacked and killed by Hamas gunmen that morning.

    At 06:29 (04:29 BST), the flag was lowered to half-mast to the sound of a lone bugle, and their names read aloud.

    A young woman stood apart from the crowd, crying quietly.

    People gathered at a ceremony with some sitting in white plastic chairs and speakers next to an Israeli flagLucy Williamson/BBC

  3. Dawn breaks in Israel on third anniversary of Hamas attacks

    People are visiting memorials at the site of the Nova music festival where more than 360 people were killed and dozens taken hostage in the Hamas attacks on October 7 2023.

    Two people hug each other at a memorial site of the Nova music festival.Reuters
    A man kissing a memorial plaque in the dark surrounded by other plaques.Reuters
    A woman hugs a sign at a memorial at the site of the Nova music festival.Reuters

  4. What happened to the 251 hostages captured by Hamas?

    On 7 October 2023, 251 hostages were captured during the Hamas-led attack on Israel.

    Of these, 168 were freed or rescued, while 83 were killed.

    The Israeli military retrieved the body of the last hostage in Gaza, Master Sgt Ran Gvili, in January 2026.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "We promised - and I promised - to bring everyone back. We brought them all back, down to the very last captive."

    Once Gvili's body was returned, a former Israeli hostage who was held for nearly 500 days in Gaza told the BBC that the released captives can "now breathe and start our lives again".

    British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari embraces her mother, Mandy, after being released from Gaza in January 2025.Reuters

    British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari embraces her mother, Mandy, after being released from Gaza in January 2025. She was dragged from her home in southern Israel during Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack

  5. Events taking place throughout day in Israel

    A number of events are taking place in Israel today, as it marks three years since the deadliest terror attack in its history.

    At 06:29 (04:29 BST) - the time Hamas launched its attack three years ago - there will be a national minute's silence. There will also be a memorial at Kfar Aza, a kibbutz near Gaza that was attacked.

    Further ceremonies will take place throughout the day, including at Reim - the site of the Nova music festival where more than 360 people were killed, and dozens taken hostage.

    Members of the kibbutz community of Kfar Aza observe a moment's silence during last year's commemorationsReuters

    Members of the kibbutz community of Kfar Aza observe a moment's silence during last year's commemorations

  6. Israelis remember 7 October attacks, three years on

    A man and woman hug in a memorial site which includes signposts of numerous victims of the 7 October Hamas attacks at the Nova music festivalEPA/Shutterstock

    People visited the memorial site near Kibbutz Re'im on Sunday

    Israel is today marking three years since Hamas's attacks on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 more taken hostage.

    Israel responded to the deadliest attacks on Jews since the Holocaust by launching an extensive military offensive in Gaza which has killed at least 74,200 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health.

    Hamas and Israel agreed to halt the war in October last year as part of US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan, including the suspension of "all military operations" and Hamas handing over the last of the hostages.

    Gaza's health ministry says more than 1,460 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in the territory since the ceasefire was declared. The Israeli military says it is pursuing Hamas commanders or terrorists.

    Multiple memorial events have been planned across Israel to commemorate the 7 October attacks, including at the site of the Nova music festival where hundreds were killed and taken hostage.

    Stay with us for updates on events in Israel and across the world, alongside reporting from our Middle East correspondent Yolande Knell.