Rushdi Abualouf
Gaza correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Three years after the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, the overriding fear among many Palestinians I have spoken to is no longer simply about how the war will end.

It is about whether Gaza’s Palestinians will ultimately be able to remain on their land.

Over recent weeks, I have spoken to officials from Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, as well as figures from across the Palestinian political spectrum.

Despite their deep divisions, there is an unusual degree of agreement on one issue: they believe the threat of large-scale displacement from Gaza remains real.

They also agree that Palestinians currently lack either the military or political means to prevent such a scenario if it were to unfold.

That fear has become one of the defining features of Gaza three years after 7 October.

The territory Palestinians inhabit today bears little resemblance to the Gaza that existed before the war. Large parts have been devastated.

Much of the population remains displaced, many living in tents and makeshift shelters, while access to food, clean water and medical treatment remains severely restricted.

Image source, Getty Images

In the wake of the 7 October attack, Israel launched an extensive military offensive in Gaza, displacing more than a million people and killing tens of thousands.

According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, at least 74,200 people have been in killed in Gaza by Israel since the action began.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says humanitarian needs in Gaza remain "overwhelming", with many struggling to access water, food and medicine.

An estimated 80% of all structures in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged during the war between Israel and Hamas, according to the UN.

More than 1.9 million people - about 90% of the territory's population - have been displaced, many of them multiple times, and 1.2 million of them are currently living in tents or makeshift shelters, it says.

Last year, the world's leading association of genocide scholars declared that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. Israel has regularly denied its actions in Gaza amount to genocide and says they are justified as a means of self-defence.

A ceasefire came into effect last October, though Israeli airstrikes and attacks on populated areas have continued.

Lucy Williamson
Middle East correspondent

The widow of the deputy commander of Kfar Aza's civil defence unit, who was killed by Hamas gunmen three years ago, describes the moment he stopped answering his phone.

“My stomach flips and I start to worry,” she says as her voice begins to break with tears.

“At 7:21, I get a message saying he loves me,” she continues. “It’s the best present I ever got.”

“After that, I only know things from stories.”

Lucy Williamson
Middle East correspondent

As the sky began to lighten over Kfar Aza, a kibbutz in southern Israel attacked by Hamas, people trickled in twos and threes towards the armoury building.

The cawing of crows cuts through the regular thud of artillery from Gaza, just a few kilometres away, and the buzz of a military drone overhead.

In the gloom, a small crowd of residents gathered at the armoury where seven members of the kibbutz’s civil defence unit were attacked and killed by Hamas gunmen that morning.

At 06:29 (04:29 BST), the flag was lowered to half-mast to the sound of a lone bugle, and their names read aloud.

A young woman stood apart from the crowd, crying quietly.

Image source, Lucy Williamson/BBC

People are visiting memorials at the site of the Nova music festival where more than 360 people were killed and dozens taken hostage in the Hamas attacks on October 7 2023.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

On 7 October 2023, 251 hostages were captured during the Hamas-led attack on Israel.

Of these, 168 were freed or rescued, while 83 were killed.

The Israeli military retrieved the body of the last hostage in Gaza, Master Sgt Ran Gvili, in January 2026.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "We promised - and I promised - to bring everyone back. We brought them all back, down to the very last captive."

Once Gvili's body was returned, a former Israeli hostage who was held for nearly 500 days in Gaza told the BBC that the released captives can "now breathe and start our lives again".

Image source, Reuters

A number of events are taking place in Israel today, as it marks three years since the deadliest terror attack in its history.

At 06:29 (04:29 BST) - the time Hamas launched its attack three years ago - there will be a national minute's silence. There will also be a memorial at Kfar Aza, a kibbutz near Gaza that was attacked.

Further ceremonies will take place throughout the day, including at Reim - the site of the Nova music festival where more than 360 people were killed, and dozens taken hostage.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Israel is today marking three years since Hamas's attacks on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 more taken hostage.

Israel responded to the deadliest attacks on Jews since the Holocaust by launching an extensive military offensive in Gaza which has killed at least 74,200 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health.

Hamas and Israel agreed to halt the war in October last year as part of US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan, including the suspension of "all military operations" and Hamas handing over the last of the hostages.

Gaza's health ministry says more than 1,460 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in the territory since the ceasefire was declared. The Israeli military says it is pursuing Hamas commanders or terrorists.

Multiple memorial events have been planned across Israel to commemorate the 7 October attacks, including at the site of the Nova music festival where hundreds were killed and taken hostage.

Stay with us for updates on events in Israel and across the world, alongside reporting from our Middle East correspondent Yolande Knell.