Opposition leaders pay respects in south to mark 3rd anniversary of October 7

Opposition leaders are visiting sites of the October 7 massacre in the south, joining bereaved families and community members to remember the victims.

Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot visits a roadside shelter in Re’im with Shira Shapira, a member of his party’s slate. Shapira’s son, off-duty soldier Staff Sgt. Aner Shapira, was killed as he heroically defended the shelter as it was attacked by terrorists, throwing seven grenades back outside.

B’Yachad leader Naftali Bennett, who stayed overnight at a kibbutz on the border, is at the Nova festival site, where he says he is “surrounded by families and friends” in shared grief and remembrance, while Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman visits Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the hardest-hit communities on that day.

Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir marks the anniversary at the separation barrier near Nitzanei Oz in central Israel where he warns against a similar attack from the West Bank.

“Three years later, we must not repeat the same mistake. October 7 must not happen in Netanya, Kfar Saba and the Sharon region,” the Otzma Yehudit leader says, calling to disarm and dismantle the Palestinian Authority.