Story summary
On October 7, 2023, Hamas militants breached Israel's border and attacked communities in southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages, marking one of the deadliest attacks against Israelis. Prominent entertainers like John Cusack and Roger Waters have since criticized Israel or supported the Palestinian cause using their platforms, though some argue that fame does not equate to expertise on complex geopolitical issues.
Three years later, commemorations are held across Israel as the country prepares for a general election. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed there would be no Hamas rule in Gaza and pledged to continue targeting those involved in the attack or hostage-takers. The anniversary also highlights ongoing tensions; while Israelis mourn their dead at various sites including Kibbutz Kfar Aza where 30 residents were killed, Palestinians grapple with the consequences of Israel's retaliatory campaign that has devastated Gaza, leaving much of its infrastructure destroyed and over a million displaced.
In Gaza, most buildings are partially or fully destroyed, and tens of thousands have lost their lives. Despite a ceasefire agreement signed nearly a year ago, Israeli strikes continue almost daily in parts of Gaza still under military control. This conflict also escalated broader regional tensions between Iran and the United States.
Written for “Israel Gaza Conflict Anniversary” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 26 other(s) covering the same event.
On Oct. 6, 2023, Omer Shem Tov and his family were celebrating his mother's birthday.
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Tov → celebrate → birthday
Less than 24 hours later, Hamas terrorists kidnapped Shem Tov from the Nova Music Festival and held him hostage in Gaza for 505 days.
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terrorists → kidnap → days
Nearly three years later, Shem Tov is telling his story while trying to regain his sense of self.
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Tov → tell → self
In a conversation with Fox News Digital, Shem Tov recalled that when Hamas' attack started at 6:29 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2023, people at the festival took precautions, but were not panicked.
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people → recall → precautions
He explained that "in Israel, we're very used to it."
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we → explain → it
Thinking that the aerial attack was the only thing coming, festival goers, including Shem Tov and his friends, began packing up and heading to their cars to drive home.
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goers → think → cars
However, many of them never made it home and, as in Shem Tov's case, some came back much later.
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some → make → case
In his book, "Light From the Darkness," Shem Tov recounts his experience of the attacks and throughout his time as a hostage in Gaza.
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Tov → recount → Gaza
He also opened up about having taken ecstasy shortly before the attacks began.
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attacks → open → ecstasy
"In my book, I talk about it, first of all, very openly, because I mean I want people to understand that I'm just like any other 20-year-old," Shem Tov told Fox News Digital.
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Tov → talk → Digital
"I wanted to party.
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I → want → ?
I wanted to have fun."
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I → want → fun
Shem Tov explained to Fox News Digital that he felt that the ecstasy, combined with his adrenaline, actually helped him "run faster and without stopping" as the attack began.
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attack → explain → adrenaline
He said that the feeling disappeared suddenly as terrorists got closer and began firing at him and his friends.
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terrorists → say → him
Hours after being taken into Gaza, Shem Tov felt the effects again.
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Tov → take → effects
He said it was "a very scary feeling."
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it → say → ?
The first 50 days of his captivity were spent in total darkness, in a cage so small he could not stand up or spread out his arms.
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he → spend → arms
Shem Tov, who is an asthmatic, said he had trouble breathing in the tiny space and that he was "starved in the most extreme way."
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he → say → way
"I was in complete darkness, I couldn't see anything, and I just went crazy," Shem Tov told Fox News Digital, adding that in his mind, he was blaming God and "everyone else" for what had happened.
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what → see → God
"After a week, I got to a point where I realized that God has created me with the power of free will.
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God → get → will
I can choose to do whatever I want.
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I → choose → whatever
I can choose to believe, I can choose not to believe.
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I → choose → ?
I can choose between good and bad and evil."
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I → choose → good
"I realized that I have two choices: Either I sink into depression and I blame everyone and God for everything that happened to me and I just sink deeper and deeper until eventually I think that I would have just died of depression and broken heart, or either I look at the situation, and I try to make something good in some way out of it," he said.
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he → realize → it
While in complete darkness, Shem Tov said he was "crying to God" and telling Him, "God, from now on I trust you and I know that I'm in the right place, in the right time.
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I → say → time
This is exactly where I am supposed to be, and I'm in your hands from now on.
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I → suppose → hands
Do as you wish, do as you will.
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you → do → ?
"
"From that moment on, I just saw light.
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I → see → light
I really did see light in complete darkness," he added.
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he → see → darkness
While in captivity, Shem Tov faced extreme pressure from his captors, yet he refused to break even under the threat of death.
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he → face → death
When they ordered him to detonate traps against advancing Israel Defense Forces soldiers, he flatly refused.
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he → order → soldiers
Even when his captors threatened to shoot him on the spot, Shem Tov held his ground and dared them to pull the trigger.
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Tov → threaten → trigger
"There was some kind of red line that I cannot cross.
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I → be → that
I will just, I will not do it," Shem Tov told Fox News Digital.
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Tov → do → Digital
Maybe I would fight for my brothers and my sisters that were hostages.
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that → fight → brothers
So, that was my red line and I just couldn't do it, and I preferred to die than do it."
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I → do → it
On Feb. 22, 2025, after enduring 505 days as a hostage, Shem Tov returned to Israel in a prisoners-for-hostages exchange between Israel and Hamas and was reunited with his family.
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Tov → endure → family
He spent months advocating for the hostages still left in the Gaza Strip.
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He → spend → Strip
The last of the living hostages were released on Oct. 13, 2025.
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last → live → Oct.
Shem Tov still travels to tell his story and speaks out against what he sees as a dangerous narrative gap in how the war is portrayed abroad.
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war → travel → gap
…and 27 more, not listed.
The Aporia
