Three years after Oct 7 attacks, families keep memory alive while the world still feels the impact

Anniversary reflections combine personal grief with the broader regional and global changes since the Oct 7 2023 Hamas attack.

By Felo News Desk · Published Tue, 06 Oct 2026 21:44:11 GMT

Three years after Hamas gunmen entered southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, families of victims continue to demand remembrance and peace, while analysts note the lasting political and humanitarian repercussions worldwide, according to the Sydney Morning Herald and The Independent.

What happened

The Oct 7 assault killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 hostages taken into Gaza, according to both outlets. The attack sparked a massive Israeli military response that, as reported by The Independent, is estimated to have caused more than 70,000 Palestinian deaths.

What the reports add

The Sydney Morning Herald notes that in the weeks before the assault Israeli attention was consumed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s push to curb the Supreme Court’s power, and that U.S. national‑security adviser Jake Sullivan described the Middle East as “quieter than it had been in two decades.”
It also records that polls show three‑quarters of Israelis back an independent commission of inquiry into the attacks, a probe that Netanyahu has repeatedly blocked.
According to the SMH, the heads of the Israeli military, Shin Bet and Mossad lost their jobs after the attack.
The Independent provides a personal perspective, detailing activist Sigal Manzuri’s creation of the “NoRo – Lighting the Way” support group, named for her daughters Norelle (25) and Roya (22), and noting that their fiancé Amit Cohen was also killed.
Manzuri’s campaign includes traveling exhibitions and plans to expand the project to Los Angeles, where the sisters were born.

What was said

“After three years, my worst fear is that my kids’ memory will fade away,” Sigal Manzuri told The Independent.

“I just ask from others to really please remember that behind every picture they see, every story they hear, there is a soul, there are so many dreams cut short. And just remember them,” she added.

“There is a way of winning this war the conventional way, with fighting and weapons and whatever. But for us, as bereaved families, we don’t fight with weapons. We fight with what we believe in. And we believe in love,” Manzuri said to The Independent.

“The main question we ask, and all of Israel asks all of the time, is: where was the army?” Danny Majzner told the SMH.

“October 7 was one of those cosmic moments when you realise the world has changed and will never be the same again,” Australian Council of Executive Jewry co‑chief executive Alex Ryvchin said to the SMH.

How it came about

Leading up to Oct 7, Israel was preoccupied with domestic judicial reforms, while the broader Palestinian cause had receded from international headlines. Jake Sullivan’s assessment of a unusually quiet Middle East preceded the surprise Hamas incursion, which then shifted global diplomatic discourse and sparked actions such as Israel’s dismantling of a billion‑dollar Hamas financing network later in 2026.

Key facts

The Oct 7 2023 Hamas attack killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages into Gaza. (smh.com.au)
Israel's subsequent military campaign is estimated to have caused over 70,000 Palestinian deaths. (independent.co.uk)
Sigal Manzuri lost her daughters Norelle (25) and Roya (22) in the Supernova music festival attack. (independent.co.uk)
Israeli officials compare the per‑capita death toll to 13 times that of the 9/11 attacks. (smh.com.au)