Netanyahu vows to return hostages as Israel marks October 7 anniversary

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday to bring back all hostages still held by Palestinian militants in Gaza, as the country commemorated the first anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

Speaking at a solemn event marking the occasion, Netanyahu said, “On this day, in this place, and in many places across our country, we remember our dead, our hostages, whom we are obligated to bring back, and our heroes who fell in defense of the homeland and the nation. We went through a terrible massacre a year ago.”

His remarks came just hours after the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an Israeli campaign group, confirmed the death of another hostage.

The group said that 28-year-old Idan Shtivi, abducted from the Nova music festival during the attack, was killed while in captivity, with his body still held by Hamas.

The October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to official Israeli figures.

Out of 251 people taken hostage during the attack, 97 are still being held in Gaza, including 34 who the Israeli military says have been confirmed dead.

Since the war began, Israel has been conducting a sustained military campaign in Gaza, leading to the deaths of over 41,909 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, with a majority of the casualties being civilians.

The United Nations has acknowledged the figures as reliable.