Israel strikes Gaza on third October 7 anniversary as three reported killed

Israel carried out new strikes in Gaza overnight on Wednesday as it marked the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, with Palestinian officials reporting three people dead (https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2026/10/07/israel-strikes-gaza-on-october-7-anniversary-at-least-two-dead-officials).

In Gaza City, al-Shifa hospital reported two people killed in an Israeli strike overnight. Gaza’s civil defence identified one as Mohamed Tamous, a volunteer for the agency, which serves as an emergency rescue service (https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2026/10/07/israel-strikes-gaza-on-october-7-anniversary-at-least-two-dead/238043). In Khan Younis, Nasser Hospital said Hisham Ibrahim Abu Mustafa, 60, was killed and others were injured. AFP said it had asked the Israeli military for comment.

Loud bangs from Gaza were audible at dawn from the Nova music festival site, where families gathered to mourn the more than 300 revellers killed three years earlier. At 06:29, the exact time the attack began, a tribute was due at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where militants killed 64 residents and abducted 18 (https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2026/10/07/israel-marks-october-7-anniversary-under-ceasefire-and-weeks-before-election/238023). An AFP tally puts the 2023 death toll at 1,221, with 251 hostages taken.

The commemorations are being held under heightened security, three weeks before Israel’s general elections, with the military on high alert. At Monday’s state ceremonies, Benjamin Netanyahu vowed there would be no Hamas rule in Gaza.

Police detained seven protesters in silent demonstrations demanding a state commission of inquiry: four outside the prime minister’s Jerusalem residence, two in Caesarea and one in Tel Aviv (https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-10-07/ty-article-live/.premium/protests-across-israel-mark-three-year-anniversary-of-october-7/000001a1-155f-dd49-a5ff-d7df14e40000).