Tuesday marks the two-year anniversary of Hamas’ brutal invasion of Israel, a day that left 1,224 Israelis dead and countless families destroyed. Reports from that day include accounts of rape, mutilation, and even the beheading of infants, crimes that shocked the world and shattered any pretense of restraint. Hamas also kidnapped civilians, IDF soldiers, and foreign workers, totaling 262 people, and still holds 48 hostages, 22 of whom are believed to be alive.
Nearly four thousand Israelis were gathered near the Gaza border at the Nova music festival on the morning of October 7, 2023, when terror descended. Attackers arrived on motorcycles, in trucks, and by powered paraglider, slaughtering 378 festivalgoers and abducting many more. The images and stories from that night have become seared into Israel’s national memory.
Kibbutz Be’eri was a vibrant community of roughly 1,000 residents before the assault, and the raid there was savage and sustained. The attack lasted twenty-seven hours, leaving 102 residents dead and thirty kidnapped, while 24 IDF soldiers gave their lives trying to liberate the kibbutz. Four Be’eri residents remain in Hamas hands: Yossi Sharabi, Manny Godard, Sahar Baruch, and Dror Or.
A memorial service was held at Kibbutz Be’eri on October 6, 2025, and the survivors keep rebuilding amid grief and determination. About 100 former residents have returned to live in Be’eri while roughly 750 remain in temporary housing at nearby kibbutzim. Another 250 former residents are scattered around the country as reconstruction continues.
Many homes still show the burned scars of the attack, physical reminders of what was taken in those hours. Israeli officials say the government plans for the majority of residents to return in July 2026 as rebuilding progresses. The task is as practical as it is emotional: repair the houses, restore the lives, and never let the memory fade.
Kibbutz Nir Oz, less than two miles from the Gaza border, was almost entirely destroyed on October 7, 2023, with attackers reportedly entering every home except six. One hundred and seventeen residents of Nir Oz were killed and nine remain held hostage, five believed to be alive. Most survivors now live in temporary housing in Kiryat Gat as the settlement is rebuilt.
Families gathered at the Nir Oz cemetery to light candles, trade memories, and keep their loved ones in mind on the anniversary. Plans call for residents to move into a new Pioneers’ neighborhood in December 2025 as reconstruction continues. For many Israelis, rebuilding is a quiet act of resistance against terror and erasure.
The four-part Israeli drama Red Alert premieres globally this week, and the series is being presented as a raw reminder of what happened on October 7. Creators worked closely with survivors to tell those stories on screen in a way that aims to honor victims and witnesses alike. Ruth Efroni, the main writer for the series, says, “I believe the episodes will show with what reverence, truthfulness, and sensitivity we treated the real stories entrusted to us.” Producer Lawrence Bender describes the project as “deeply personal” and says that it “tells the story of our people and of a single day that changed everything. What makes it so powerful is that it isn’t just a drama. It’s real.”
Across Israel, memorial events are taking place before and after the actual anniversary, partly because October 7, 2025 falls on the first day of Sukkot. Sukkot is one of the three Jewish pilgrimage holidays when the Bible commands communal gathering and ritual observance. Many families and communities are choosing to mark the massacre during the holiday to ensure the dead are not forgotten.
The IDF and Shin Bet have increased their presence in kibbutzim and towns along the Gaza border to protect memorials and visitors. Tens of thousands of citizens are expected to visit these sites throughout Sukkot to remember and to grieve. Security remains tight as officials try to balance remembrance with the ongoing risk along the frontier.
The Israeli government has launched a new online archive called “October 7 Files: Organized Evil” to collect documents, photos, and the planning material behind the attacks. For the first time, authorities say, the full organized record of planning, execution, and aftermath is being presented in one place to counter disinformation. The site is intended to be a single, documented source that lays out how the massacre was conceived and carried out.
Among the materials are original documents attributed to Yahya Sinwar, who Israeli forces killed in Gaza on October 16, 2024, that reportedly call for mass killing. One translated order included the chilling instruction “to behead and murder heads of families.” Those documents are being used to demonstrate premeditation rather than spontaneous outrage.
Other captured instructions describe how attackers should document and broadcast their crimes, down to the handling of phones and batteries. One document reads: “Wipe the mobile phone camera lens well from dust before filming. Make sure the phone is charged, and if charging is needed, use the available power battery. Do not answer incoming calls on the SIM card, especially not from unknown numbers. Turn on the phone only moments before starting the mission.” That level of procedural detail underscores the planned nature of the operation.
The archive also includes maps used by attackers and evidence that civilian infrastructure in Gaza was exploited to facilitate the assault. The materials point to the use of hospitals, schools, churches, and UNRWA facilities as bases and cover, and to tactics of hiding behind civilians in violation of international law. Israeli officials say the collection rebuts attempts to frame the attacks as legitimate resistance.
For two years, some supporters of Hamas have tried to reframe October 7 as resistance to occupation, but the documentation aims to expose those narratives as false. The government plans targeted promotion of the archive online so that search engines and social platforms will surface the documented facts. The hope is that a clear record will shape public understanding over time.
Students for Justice in Palestine traces its roots to UC Berkeley in 1993 and now claims more than 450 chapters across North America. Many national chapters have publicly framed October 7 as a “military victory” and called for a “week of rage.” Despite bans at some campuses, organizers have signaled plans for informal rallies and vigils that some see as honoring those who carried out the massacre.
Students for a Democratic Society, founded in 1960, only began earnest support for Hamas around the 2014 Gaza war and has since embraced more radical campus activism. SDS plans to hold a to celebrate Palestinian “resistance,” a move that opponents say glorifies terror and dishonors victims. Campus unrest of this kind forces colleges to choose between free speech and the moral costs of tolerating praise for mass murder.
Within Our Lifetime, which began as NYC Students for Justice in Palestine in 2015, is planning a rally in Midtown Manhattan at the News Corp Building. WOL is reportedly calling for “Honor our Martyrs. Break the Siege. End the genocide. Resist for Palestine.” Those slogans make clear the gulf between mainstream condemnation of October 7 and the groups that frame the attacks as heroic.
Meanwhile, in Italy, the Israeli Embassy worked with local authorities to prevent public pro-Hamas events scheduled for October 7. Authorities there said the decisions were meant to maintain public order and uphold laws against incitement. The contrast between shutdowns in Europe and open organizing on some U.S. campuses highlights differing national responses.
