Israel

Jérusalem, October 7, 2026. Three years after the Hamas attack, which killed some 1,200 people and led 251 hostages to Gaza according to the Jerusalem Post, the Israeli press commemorates a day that the campaign makes inseparable from the judgment on the government. The legislative elections are set for October 27, in twenty days.

The Jerusalem Post notes that the national mourning remains difficult to share: the official day of commemoration fell on Monday, October 5, while the civil ceremonies, including that of Ganei Yehoshua, take place on Wednesday, October 7. The newspaper sees a disagreement over "who should lead the mourning" and the place of a government that presided over the catastrophe.

The polls place responsibility at the center of the debate. According to N12, 65% of those surveyed believe that Benjamin Netanyahu bears "great personal responsibility" and 66% support a state commission of inquiry (93% of opposition voters, 37% of coalition voters). The Israel Democracy Institute notes that 62% of Israelis consider the 7-October central to their voting choice; its president, Yohanan Plesner, considers the commission "essential". Former hostage Gadi Moses, 82, accuses the Prime Minister of opposing it because of its political consequences. Haaretz writes that the officials who dismissed the warnings are still in office and that the government is delaying an independent investigation; families of victims and hostages demonstrated on Wednesday to demand it.

The security dimension fuels the quarrel. Defense Minister Israel Katz raised the alert in the face of intelligence on Hamas attacks against soldiers in Gaza; Gadi Eisenkot sees it as "an indictment against the government of 7-October". Haaretz estimates that Netanyahu amplifies the threats for political gain, between real warnings, excess caution, and electoral calculations. The army publishes its report: nearly 100,000 targets hit since 2023, including 65,000 in Gaza. The Jerusalem Post considers it very unlikely that an invasion of the same type will occur within the year.

Individual stories also occupy the space: former hostage Eli Sharabi, 491 days of captivity, or the inhabitants of the Mishor Hagefen neighborhood in Ofakim, a non-evacuated neighborhood, according to Haaretz. The Jerusalem Post regrets that Arab media mostly mention the destruction in Gaza, without mentioning the Israeli victims.