Amid fragile ceasefire, Israel marks two years of Hamas-led attacks

Jerusalem: Israel marked a national day of commemoration Thursday for the victims of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel and for those who died in the ensuing war, almost a week after a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was declared.

A central state ceremony was held Thursday, which was two years after the 2023 attack according to the Jewish calendar. It took place at the national cemetery, Mount Herzl, in Jerusalem. Several hundred people attended, many in Israeli military uniform.

"Even if this isn't the end," said Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, speaking onstage and referring to two years of war, "we have hope we are nearing it, with throats choked with tears and grief, intertwined with moments of relief."

Since the ceasefire, Hamas has released the 20 remaining living hostages who had been held in Gaza, and Israel has freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners from its jails. Among those freed were 250 Palestinians convicted of terrorism offenses or acts of violence against Israelis and roughly 1,700 more who were detained in Gaza during the war and held in Israel without charge.

On Thursday, Israel said it had identified the bodies of two more people that Hamas handed back Wednesday. Israel said the two had been killed in the October 2023 attack and taken into Gaza. Last week's truce agreement called for the immediate handover of all remaining bodies in Gaza, though both sides acknowledged that some could be difficult to locate and may take more time to retrieve because of the destruction across the enclave.

The Palestinian militant group has so far handed over at least nine bodies that Israel has identified, while the bodies of 19 more Israelis remain in Gaza, according to a spokesperson for the prime minister's office.

Israel has returned at least 90 bodies of Palestinians to Gaza, according to statements by the International Red Cross. The Israeli military has withdrawn some of its forces to an agreed-upon line inside Gaza, and some Palestinians have begun returning to their homes -- or to where the homes once stood.

At the state ceremony in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would achieve all of its war aims. He has previously said those aims include disarming Hamas, which has been a red line for the group and remains an unresolved issue in negotiations to end the war.

Netanyahu added that Israel had struck its enemies with "hammer blows," vowing that "anyone who raises their hand against us will pay a heavy price for their aggression."

About 1,200 people were killed Oct. 7, including Israeli civilians and security personnel, and about 250 were taken hostage. In the subsequent war in Gaza, at least 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Over 460 Israelis have been killed in the war since it started, according to Israel's National Security Council.