Israel-Lebanon News: Israeli attacks hit Lebanon and Gaza as a gunman kills a woman in Israel

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

People across Israel are preparing for the one-year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks – the deadliest day in the country’s history.

Many of the worst-hit communities in the South are organizing their own memorial events.

At Kibbutz Nir Oz, where 46 people were killed, a memorial service will be held at the cemetery and residents will plant “trees of hope.”

Shay Levinson’s mother was killed on the kibbutz and Hamas posted a video of the killing on its own Facebook page.

“Now that a year has passed, I feel anger. Anger at the Palestinians and their leadership… I also feel great sadness and disappointment that the hostages have now spent a whole year in the Hamas tunnels,” she says.

A private memorial service is planned at nearby Kibbutz Be’eri. “I can’t believe a year has passed,” one resident tells me.

A large unofficial memorial event is also planned in Tel Aviv, although the number of participants is limited due to the threat of rocket attacks. A pre-recorded state memorial is expected to be broadcast on television tomorrow evening.

Here in Jerusalem, the Hostages Families Forum has called for a rally at the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We [will] We come together to remember, demand action and bring our loved ones home,” the group said in a statement today.

Israelis will also celebrate this day privately.

“Tomorrow will be a sad day for me and my family because it is a day of remembrance of the terrible massacre,” said 52-year-old Tel Aviv native Lior.

“Tomorrow I will go to Hostages Square with my children [show] Support. I will read life stories about the murdered, as I have been doing since October 7th, to remember and not forget.”