Israel marks 7 October attacks

SECOND ANNIVERSARY: HAMAS, ISRAELI NEGOTIATORS HOLD INDIRECT TALKS TO END WAR

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Israel marked the second anniversary of the 7 October attacks yesterday, as Hamas and Israeli negotiators held indirect talks aimed at ending the war in Gaza under a US-proposed peace plan.

Two years ago to the day, at the close of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, Hamas-led militants launched the deadliest attack on Israel in the country's history, sparking a huge retaliatory offensive in Gaza.

The attack shocked the world, with Palestinian fighters breaching the Gaza-Israel border and storming southern Israeli communities and a desert music festival with gunfire, rockets and grenades. It resulted in the deaths of 1 219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also took 251 people hostage into Gaza, of whom 47 remain captive, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.

Yesterday, senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum called the 7 October attack a "historic response" to Israel's bid to "eradicate the Palestinian cause".

He also said Hamas was working to "surmount all obstacles" to sealing a deal in Egypt.

Two years on from the 7 October attack, global pressure to end the war has escalated massively, with much of Gaza flattened, a UN-declared famine unfolding and Israeli hostage families still longing for their loved ones' return.

A UN probe last month accused Israel of genocide in Gaza while rights groups have accused Hamas of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 7 October attack. Both sides reject the allegations.