Israel is commemorating the first anniversary of a lethal strike within Israeli territory by the Palestinian group Hamas, which was followed by Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
President Isaac Herzog began the commemorations on Monday, with shrines honoring 1,139 Israelis and approximately 100 others currently held captive in Gaza.
Herzog began the day with a moment of silence at 6:29 a.m. (03:29 GMT), the exact time the attack began a year ago, at kibbutz Reim, the site of the Nova music festival, when 364 people were killed by Hamas-led terrorists.
After briefly playing the same trance music that had been played throughout the event, hundreds of family members and friends of the victims stood in silence, many of them crying, as Herzog addressed the audience.
“When we are here, we are near our loved ones, this is the time they danced and fled,” said Sigal Bar-On, whose niece, Yuval Bar-On, 25, and her fiance Moshe Shuva, 34, were supposed to get married in December last year.Herzog called the attack on the Nova music festival “a scar on humanity” as he appealed to the world to support Israel against its enemies.
“The world has to realise and understand that in order to change the course of history and bring peace, a better future to the region, it must support Israel in its battle against its enemies,” said the president in a statement