Israel marks third Oct. 7 anniversary as Netanyahu denies reports he was warned of the attack in advance

Israelis gathered on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, to mark the third anniversary of the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, according to Arab News. Families were to mourn at intersections, bomb shelters and the site of the Nova music festival in southern Israel, Arab News reported; the government's official memorial services were held on Oct. 5, closer to the Hebrew-calendar anniversary. According to The Jerusalem Post, US President Donald Trump told reporters he had spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and wished the people of Israel well, the White House issued a statement of solidarity, and European Commission Vice President and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also issued statements. NPR reported that new reports in Israeli and US media say regional allies warned Netanyahu that Hamas was planning to attack, and that Netanyahu has denied this, calling the reports "fake news" and recently filing a defamation lawsuit against the outlets that first published them. In Gaza, Arab News reported that no events were expected on Wednesday, that more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed according to the territory's Health Ministry, and that Israeli strikes have continued despite a ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10.

NPR said four people in the Middle East with direct knowledge of the warnings told it that Netanyahu was personally informed about potential attacks and that his security agencies were notified multiple times in the weeks and days leading up to Oct. 7, 2023. According to NPR, Netanyahu labelled the reports "fake news" and recently filed a defamation lawsuit against the news outlets that first published the information. NPR also reported that he and his defense minister now warn that Hamas might attempt to attack again on the memorial day and leading up to Israel's national elections later this month.

Arab News reported that this was the first anniversary on which all the hostages were home, which it described as marking a new stage of grief. It reported that the government's official memorial services took place on Oct. 5, nearer the Hebrew-calendar anniversary of the attack, and said the separate commemorations indicate deep divisions over Netanyahu's handling of the war and his reluctance to launch an official inquiry into the failings of that day. Arab News also reported that a contentious election in Israel at the end of the month hangs over this year's anniversary.

The Jerusalem Post reported the anniversary statements of several officials. Trump was quoted saying he had wished the people of Israel well and that "the other side is paying a very big price for what they did on October 7"; a White House post said the administration "remains committed to confronting terrorism and bringing hostages home." Kallas called the attacks "a barbaric act of terror," urged Hamas to disarm and allow peace efforts in Gaza to proceed, and called for Europe to reject antisemitism. Burnham said Britain's Jewish community should hear directly that abuse and violence would not be tolerated, and vowed to advocate for a two-state solution internationally. Miliband extended condolences, said the British government stands against Hamas and those who would seek Israel's destruction, and said it would continue to fight terrorism and hatred and pursue peace. Macron said France remembers the more than 1,200 victims, including 51 French nationals, and remains committed to fighting antisemitism and terrorism. Merz described the massacre as a profound turning point and said antisemitism must be confronted with greater determination. Guterres called the targeting of civilians and the taking of hostages unjustifiable atrocities, mourned those killed and those who died in captivity, and urged that the Gaza peace plan be implemented and a political path to regional peace be built.

Arab News reported that around 90 percent of Gaza's population has been displaced, often multiple times, and that restrictions on the entry of goods and aid have contributed to a severe hunger crisis. It said more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza according to the territory's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its figures but says around half were women and children, and that the ministry's numbers are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts. Arab News reported that a ceasefire taking effect on Oct. 10 halted the heaviest fighting but that Israeli strikes have continued against what Israel says are Hamas militants, with 1,145 Palestinians killed since the ceasefire according to the ministry and seven Israeli soldiers killed in that period. It added that Hamas portrayed the Oct. 7 attack as a response to decades of Israeli military occupation, land seizures and settlement construction, and that Palestinians' goal of an independent state appears more distant.

TIME described the Gaza war as Israel's longest war and said the relatively stable ceasefire with Lebanon that had held from 2006 to 2023 ended when Hezbollah fired on Israel the day after the Hamas attack, with the current ceasefire precarious. TIME and Arab News both reported that Israel and the US have waged two wars with Iran; Arab News said Israel has seized swaths of territory in Syria and Lebanon, where more than 300,000 Lebanese remain displaced, and that Iran and the US are locked in a confrontation that has seen attacks across Arab Gulf countries and shaken the global economy. TIME reported record levels of emigration from Israel and growing international isolation, and cited an Israel Democracy Institute poll in which 61 percent of Israelis said the national mood is poor. TIME also said hundreds of thousands of Israelis have spent the last three years in and out of active reserve duty.

TIME published an analysis arguing that shifts in Israeli public opinion since Oct. 7, 2023 have been moderate and consistent with trends predating the attack. It cited a joint Palestinian-Israeli survey it said the author conducts with colleagues at Tel Aviv University and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, in which support for a two-state solution stood at 39 percent of Israelis in December 2022 — the lowest since the 1990s — with 34 percent of Jewish respondents supporting two states and 37 percent favoring permanent annexation of the West Bank with limited rights for Palestinians. It said that in a mid-2024 round, Jewish respondents were twice as likely to favor a single Israeli-dominated unequal state as two states; that a July 2026 Tel Aviv University Peace Index survey put two-state support at 31 percent; that Israel Democracy Institute surveys find just over 60 percent of Israeli Jews describing themselves as right-wing, a few points above late 2022, when it said 59 percent did so and 12 percent described themselves as left-wing; that 71 percent of Israelis supported two states in 2010; and that a May survey for the Institute for National Security Studies found about 20 percent of the total population, Jews and Arabs, define themselves as left-wing.

Arab News reported the account of released hostage Elkana Bohbot, 37, who it said was abducted from the Nova music festival and held for 738 days, mostly 50 meters underground in a dark, damp tunnel, in a small cell with other hostages, given very little food and allowed to bathe only every few weeks, and forced to take part in propaganda videos. Arab News reported that in the 11 months since his release he has undergone physical and emotional rehabilitation, written a book, begun a speaking career, travelled with his family and celebrated missed holidays and birthdays, and that his wife Rivka gave birth to a daughter in August. Bohbot was quoted saying of the newborn that she is "not a symbol for my people, she is more of a symbol for the enemy," and that "this child is the message for you that we were here, and we will always be here forever."

The New York Post, in an opinion column, wrote that crowds would gather in New York and other cities on the anniversary and characterised such gatherings as celebrations of the attack, saying they were organized by groups including the youth section of the Democratic Socialists of America, which it described as belonging to Mayor Zohran Mamdani. It quoted organizers saying the date "marks three years since resistance against imperialism changed the fate of our world forever." The column also asserted that Mamdani condemns Oct. 7 as a "war crime" while directing public money through various fronts to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and criticised Democratic figures including Barack Obama and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. No other supplied source mentioned these gatherings or these individuals.

Where sources differ

• Arab News reports that this is the first anniversary on which all the hostages are home, while the White House statement quoted by The Jerusalem Post refers to the administration remaining committed to "bringing hostages home."
• Arab News reports that the Oct. 7, 2023 attack killed 1,200 people, while Macron, as quoted by The Jerusalem Post, cites "more than 1,200 victims."
• The New York Post describes gatherings in New York and other cities on the anniversary as celebrations of the attack and names the Democratic Socialists of America youth section among the organizers; no other supplied source reports such gatherings or mentions the organizers.
• TIME characterises changes in Israeli public opinion since Oct. 7, 2023 as moderate and as a continuation of trends that predated the attack; the New York Post column presents the anniversary period in terms of support for and opposition to Hamas, and Arab News frames the day around Israeli division and Palestinian displacement, without making a comparable claim about the scale of opinion change.

• No source establishes when, how or through which channels the reported warnings to Netanyahu were conveyed, what they contained, or which regional allies are said to have issued them.
• No source reports a response from Hamas to the anniversary, to the reported warnings, or to the allegations about Oct. 7 beyond its stated 2023 rationale.
• No source names or quotes Netanyahu's defense minister, and no source reports a response from Israel's security agencies to the reports that they were notified multiple times before the attack.
• The Gaza death toll is attributed to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which Arab News notes does not distinguish between civilians and militants; no supplied source provides independent verification of the figures.
• No source specifies the exact date of Israel's national elections beyond "later this month" or "the end of the month," or the date of the defamation lawsuit filed by Netanyahu.
• The New York Post's claims about the Democratic Socialists of America youth section, Mayor Mamdani, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Abdul El-Sayed, Barack Obama and the documentary it calls "NAZA" are not corroborated by any other supplied source, and the column reports no responses from those it criticises.
• No source reports how many people attended or planned to attend any anniversary gathering outside Israel, or whether such gatherings took place.
• The polling figures in TIME's analysis come from surveys the author describes conducting or cites; no other supplied source corroborates them.
• No source states how many hostages were taken in total, how or when they were released, or whether any remain in captivity beyond Arab News's statement that all are now home.
• Details of the reported humanitarian situation in Gaza, including displacement and hunger figures, rest on Arab News alone, and Israeli officials are not quoted responding to them.

1. TIME — original — by Dahlia Scheindlin
2. The Jerusalem Post — by GOLDIE KATZ
3. NPR News — by Brittney Melton
4. Arab News — by AP
5. New York Post — by Post Editorial Board

Read the original at TIME

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