Politics Israeli President: Continuing to strive for peace with neighbors

Shortly before the first anniversary of the Hamas massacre on October 7, Israel's President Izchak Herzog announced his intention to overcome hatred in the region. "We have not given up our deep longing and our striving for peace with our neighbors," Herzog said in a speech. "We are a people with the strength to rise up again and again against hatred." He emphasized: "We will not stop believing that a better world is possible."

At the same time, Israel's president reminded the audience that the wounds of the people in the country could still not heal completely. "Because hostages are still being tortured, executed and dying in captivity."

Israel is also still experiencing the after-effects of the brutal terrorist attack. Tens of thousands of internally displaced people are still unable to return to their homes, and anti-Semitism has arisen around the world in the wake of the Gaza war as a result of the Hamas massacre, Herzog said. The terrorist attack had destroyed people's sense of security in Israel. And the Jewish state continues to be threatened by Iran and its proxies.

For Muslims, Christians, Druze in Israel and Jews around the world, it had been a year "full of suffering and devastation", the President continued.

On October 7, 2023, terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and took around 250 others hostage in the Gaza Strip. This was the trigger for the Gaza war, in which, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority, almost 42,000 Palestinians have been killed so far.