As Israel-Hamas talks bring hopes, Israelis to mark two years since October 7 attack

As the world observes two years of the Gaza war, Israelis will gather across the country to mark the second anniversary of the October 7 attack, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people who were killed by Hamas.

Informal memorials are planned in several small kibbutzim in southern Israel, where residents were killed or abducted, while a major demonstration is set to take place in Tel Aviv, urging the release of hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the official commemoration will take place on October 16 in Israel’s national cemetery on Mount Herzl, following the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.

At the same time, some remembrance ceremonies will be turned into rallies where people will urge the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu-led government to reach a deal to bring the hostages home and end the war.

Israel-Hamas negotiation update

US President Donald Trump has said that Hamas has made significant concessions during indirect negotiations with Israel in Egypt over his Gaza peace plan.

Talking to CNN, the president said, “I think Hamas has been agreeing to things that are very important.” When asked whether the US has pressed on any conditions, like on its demand of disarming Hamas, Trump replied, “Well, if certain things aren’t met? We’re not going to do it, but I think we’re doing very well.”

Israel and Hamas began indirect talks of a Gaza ceasefire on the eve of the second anniversary of the war that has killed thousands of Palestinians. Al-Qahera News, which is linked to Egyptian state intelligence, said the first round of talks ended “amid a positive atmosphere” and would continue on Tuesday.

‘Negotiations will be complex’

Hamas’s lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, who survived Israel’s attack on the Palestinian Islamist movement’s leaders in Doha last month, held a meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials ahead of the talks, an Egyptian security source said.

This round of negotiations, launched on the eve of the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war, “may last for several days”, said a Palestinian source close to Hamas’s leadership.

“We expect the negotiations to be difficult and complex, given the occupation’s intentions to continue its war of extermination,” he told AFP.