Israel’s president on Monday, October 7, kicked off global commemorations on the first anniversary of Hamas’s deadly October 7, 2023 attack, with memorials held to honour the victims and the hostages still in captivity in Gaza.

Protests were also held against the wars the unprecedented attack sparked in Gaza and Lebanon.

In Israel, President Isaac Herzog began the day with a moment of silence at 6:29 am – the time the attack began – at Kibbutz Re’im, the site of the Supernova music festival where at least 370 people were killed by heavily armed Hamas fighters on October 7. Families of those killed attended the memorial, many of them crying, as Herzog met the crowd, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent reported.

There will also be a rally at Kibbutz Be’eri, where more 120 people were killed in the assault, calling for the return of the hostages still held by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile in Tel Aviv, relatives of hostages and their supporters will hold a rally calling for a ceasefire.

‘We do not forget the victims’

French President Emmanuel Macron sent “fraternal thoughts” to the victims and their families. “The pain remains, as vivid as it was a year ago. The pain of the Israeli people. Ours. The pain of wounded humanity,” he wrote on X in posts in Hebrew, English and French. “We do not forget the victims, the hostages, or the families with broken hearts from absence or waiting. I send them our fraternal thoughts,” he wrote.

“On the eve of the first anniversary of the Hamas terrorist offensive against Israel, he expressed the solidarity of the French people with the Israeli people,” the French presidency said, adding that Macron also voiced “his conviction that the time for a ceasefire has now come.”

On Sunday Macron talked by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reaffirming France’s “unwavering commitment” to Israel’s security and insisting on a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot attended a ceremony to commemorate the October 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel. Barrot is due to meet with his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz before heading to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and will make a statement in Re’im in the presence of families of the French victims of the October 7 attack.

First vigils

In Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was expected at an event Monday evening in Melbourne, while a candlelight vigil was planned in Sydney to show support for Palestinians after a year of war.

Students in the Indian capital New Delhi, meanwhile, have called a rally to demand a “free Palestine.”

In the United States, the White House will hold a vigil for the Israeli hostages, while Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump is due to mark the anniversary at a “Remembrance Event” in Miami organised by Jewish community leaders.

The first vigils, memorials and marches to mark the anniversary were held a day earlier, on Sunday, in cities ranging from Tel Aviv to London, Paris and Berlin.

Tens of thousands of protesters also marched in cities around the world over the weekend to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.

In Tel Aviv on Sunday evening, friends and relatives of the 370 people killed in the massacre at the Supernova music festival held a candlelight vigil at a concert hall. Against a backdrop of neon lights and music, they lit candles for their loved ones and embraced.

Tributes in Europe

In London, thousands gathered in Hyde Park, waving Israeli flags and “bring them home” placards with faces of the hostages. Photos of those killed on October 7 were shown on a big screen as attendees lit candles in their honour.

The day before, on Saturday, a “National March for Palestine” in London saw chants of “stop bombing civilians” and “hands off Lebanon.”

In Berlin, a pro-Israel demonstration near the city’s Brandenburg Gate on Sunday drew around 500 people, police said. Many waved the Israeli flag and some carried pictures of hostages held by Hamas.

Over a thousand people, meanwhile, marched in solidarity with Palestinians in the city, according to police, with demonstrators chanting “Gaza you are not alone.” More demonstrations are expected Monday, including in Frankfurt.

In Paris, thousands of people gathered on Sunday to remember the victims of the attack.

In Geneva, 300 people gathered on Sunday evening in front of the UN offices there for a tribute.

‘Never look the other way’

In a statement late Sunday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “One year on from these horrific attacks we must unequivocally stand with the Jewish community and unite as a country.” “We must never look the other way in the face of hate,” ha added. He also called for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, and for a free flow of aid into Gaza.

In Washington, a man set himself on fire as more than 1,000 people demonstrated outside the White House demanding an end to US military aid to Israel, AFP journalists said.

In Morocco, Sunday, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the capital, Rabat, waving Palestinian flags and calling to break off diplomatic ties with Israel, which the kingdom normalised in 2020.