Hundreds of people have gathered in Tel Aviv for the main memorial ceremony commemorating the victims of the October 7 terror attacks.
The gathering in Tel Aviv's Hayarkon Park is taking place under strict security measures, with entry restricted only to the families and friends of those who were killed or kidnapped by Hamas and other militant groups during the attack last year.
The original plans to open the gathering to the public were scrapped after Israeli security authorities restricted attendance at events to 2,000 people following the Iranian missile attack last week.
The families began the gathering by holding a minute's silence which will be followed by speeches from some of the family members and survivors of the attack.
The family of Yair Yaakov is among those attending the ceremony, and his son Yigal is among the speakers.
Yaakov, 59, a resident of kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel was murdered on October 7, when terrorists stormed his home. His family, however, didn't know about his death, believing he was taken hostage into Gaza, his brother Yaniv told CNN at the event in Tel Aviv.
It wasn't until February that they found out that he was killed and his body kidnapped into Gaza. Yaniv told CNN that bringing his brother's body back home for burial is now 'the most important thing' for the family, especially for his mother.
'She is alive, but she's not living. This is all she can think about,' he said.
The post Families of those killed or kidnapped by Hamas in October 7 attacks hold memorial service in Tel Aviv appeared first on The Custom Reports.
