Mourners mark Oct. 7 anniversary at Kfar Aza, stand silently at moment when attack began

Several hundred mourners gather in Kfar Aza, near the Gaza border, to mark the second anniversary of the October 2023 Hamas attack.

The crowd gathers for a ceremony at the community’s weapons storage building, where some of the fighting between the community’s response team and invading terrorists took place.

The seven members of the response team are a focus of the ceremony, their images posted on the side of the building, over a lit memorial candle for each.

Residents of the community addressing the crowd also all refer to the twins Ziv and Gali Berman, who remain hostage in Gaza.

At 6:29, at the time the attack began, the crowd stands for a moment of silence. Booms from artillery in Gaza are audible in the background.

The brief ceremony closes with the crowd signing Hatikvah, or the Hope, Israel’s anthem.