Grieving family members of the victims of Hamas‘ October 7 attack on southern Israel visited a memorial site today to mark the six-month anniversary of the war.
Bereaved relatives were pictured at the space set up in tribute, since planted with flowers and marked with photos of those who lost their lives at the Nova festival.
Some 1,170 people were killed in attacks last year after Hamas launched a surprise incursion across the border, targeting civilian settlements and a peace festival near Re’im before taking a further 254 people into Gaza as hostages.
Survivors have shared how they desperately tried to hide as gunmen stormed the event at dawn and started shooting civilians indiscriminately, with scores of missiles falling down on Israel around them.
But six months on, Israel now risks losing support from its closest allies, with its subsequent invasion of the Gaza Strip drawing condemnation at home and abroad over huge civilian casualties and the deaths of seven aid workers last week.
As delegations meet in Cairo to resume uneasy ceasefire talks, the war continues to evolve as its victims pray for a peaceful resolution, Israel today announcing the shock tactical retreat of troops in southern Gaza to ‘prepare for future operations’.
The horror attack on October 7 resulted in the death of 1,170 Israelis and foreigners, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Since then, Israel has embarked upon a devastating bombardment and ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, displacing the vast majority of the population and killing at least 33,137 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The Israeli military claims to have ‘eliminated’ 12,000 enemy fighters in Gaza, including five brigade commanders and 20 battalion commanders.
While the health ministry does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants in its tally, thousands of civilians are believed to have perished in the enclave.
Save the Children reported on Thursday that as many as one in 50 children had been either killed or injured after six months of war.
While 109 hostages have since been released, and three rescued by the IDF, the families of the hostages continue to mount protests against the leadership of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more to ensure their safe return.
Thousands rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday night for protests to mark six months since the hostages were taken.
Separately, demonstrations went ahead around the country calling for early elections, putting more pressure on Netanyahu to seek a deal with Hamas.
Among the protesters was Israel’s centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid, who was later headed to Washington, his Yesh Atid party said.
And the United States, outraged by the recent deaths of seven volunteer aid workers killed in an Israeli strike last week, urged the Prime Minister to ensure the delivery of more aid deliveries into Gaza – with rights groups warning a famine threatens the Palestinian enclave.
In Cairo, American and Israeli negotiators are expected to meet today to talk through a possible deal that would see hostages exchanged in return for a ceasefire agreement.
In a new push, CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani will join Egyptian officials for indirect talks from Sunday between the Israeli and Hamas delegations, Egypt’s Al-Qahera News said.
Hamas has confirmed that its core demands are a complete ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces – conditions Israel has previously rejected.
Washington blames the failure so far on Hamas’ refusal to release sick and other vulnerable hostages, while Qatar has said Israeli objections to the return of displaced Gazans are the main obstacle.
It comes at a sensitive time in the conflict, amid fears that the war could spread after Iran vowed to hit back for the killing of seven of its Revolutionary Guards in an air strike Monday on the consular annex of its embassy in Damascus.
Iran’s leaders have pledged retaliation, and the leader Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, has called the consulate strike a ‘turning point’.
Israel also faces mounting pressure from its allies to do more to limit civilian casualties after seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli drone strike last Monday.
The group had just unloaded supplies at a warehouse in central Gaza when a vehicle some were travelling in was hit by a precision R9X Hellfire missile shortly before midnight on Monday.
Passengers were seen scrambling from the wreckage and jumping into the other two cars – and telling the IDF they had come under fire.
The remaining vehicles were hit after travelling just 1,000 yards up the road, on a street ‘designated for the passage of humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The third car tried to take the injured to safety but was hit by a drone after making it a mile up the coastal road, killing all seven of the volunteers.
Former SBS operator John Chapman, 57, former sniper marksman James Kirby, 47, and former special forces operator, James Henderson, 33, died in air strikes carried out by the IDF on April 1.
The group also included an American, a Palestinian, a Pole and an Australian, drawing sharp criticism from the leaders of the respective countries.
The World Central Kitchen, which was founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres, said its staff were traveling in two armored cars emblazoned with the charity’s logo and another vehicle.
The group had notified Israel of its whereabouts and reported the attack as it happened.
Israel maintains the strikes were accidental, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledging that the ‘tragic case’ would be investigated ‘right to the end’.
‘This happens in war,’ he said. ‘We are conducting a thorough inquiry and are in contact with the governments. We will do everything to prevent a recurrence.’
Chief of staff of the Israeli military, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi added: ‘I want to be very clear – the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming WCK aid workers.
‘It was a mistake that followed a misidentification – at night during a war in very complex conditions. It shouldn’t have happened,’ Halevi said.
The Israeli military pledged an investigation by ‘an independent, professional and expert body’.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Netanyahu that Britain was appalled by the deaths and demanded a thorough and transparent independent investigation, Sunak’s office said.
In a strongly worded statement, US President Joe Biden said Israel ‘has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians.’
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he expressed ‘anger and concern’ to Netanyahu in a separate call.
Poland said ‘it does not agree to the lack of compliance with international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians, including humanitarian workers’, and demanded compensation for the families of the killed WCK staff.
At least 196 humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza since October, according to the United Nations, and Hamas has previously accused Israel of targeting aid distribution sites.
Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron later warned Britain’s support for Israel is not unconditional amid calls for the UK to withhold weapons sales.
Writing in the Sunday Times today, Lord Cameron issued a warning over Israel’s compliance with international law.
In a shocking new development, Israel also said it would retire all ground forces from the southern Gaza strip today as delegations met in Cairo to discuss possible peace terms.
‘Today, Sunday April 7th, the IDF’s 98th commando division has concluded its mission in Khan Yunis.
‘The division left the Gaza Strip in order to recuperate and prepare for future operations,’ the army said in a statement.
Asked whether this meant all troops have left south Gaza, an army official confirmed: ‘Yes.’
The military has been reducing numbers in Gaza since the start of the year to relieve reservists and under growing pressure from its ally Washington to improve the humanitarian situation.
It did not give details on its reasons for withdrawing soldiers or the numbers involved.
Rights groups and charities warn civilians at risk of famine if more is not done to ensure safe access for aid into Gaza.
Aid workers also urge the importance of deliveries, claiming they have a ‘significant impact’ on the victims of the war when able to reach their destination.
Saleem – not their real name – described the difficulty of conditions in Gaza, working with Mercy Corps.
‘There is still a severe food shortage in all governorates of the Gaza Strip, especially in Gaza and northern Gaza, where the shortage is very severe.
‘Currently, these governorates are literally facing famine, with no bread available and people eating whatever they can find.
‘In the other governorates, the shortage is more qualitative than quantitative, meaning that people are suffering from malnutrition with a severe lack of some components such as meat, vegetables, and sweets.
‘People suddenly collapsed while walking on the street due to hunger.’
Israel has nonetheless pledged to continue its campaign, Netanyahu stressing there will be no ceasefire without the return of all the hostages in a statement today.
‘We are one step away from victory. But the price we paid is painful and heartbreaking,’ he said in a cabinet address.
‘There will be no ceasefire without the return of hostages. It just won’t happen,’ he added.
He stressed that ‘Israel is ready for a deal, Israel is not ready to surrender’.
‘Instead of international pressure being directed at Israel, which only causes Hamas to harden its positions, the pressure of the international community should be directed against Hamas. This will advance the release of the hostages.’