October 7, 2023: Two Years Since the Nova Festival Massacre

Two years have passed since the Hamas attack on Israel in the Negev desert, where more than 1,200 people were killed and around 250 were kidnapped by Palestinian militants.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated that the October 7, 2023 attack was “one of the darkest pages in history”. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also remembered the event, declaring, “we will never forget that horror.”

Today, the families of the victims are commemorating the anniversary at the site of the attack, observing a minute of silence. All this comes as the State of Israel and the Hamas regime attempt to reach a peace agreement for Gaza.

The President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, remembers October 7 as “a wound that struck every people”. He also warned that “what is happening in Gaza and the various emotions it stirs must not give way to the vile sentiment of antisemitism, which, particularly in the last century, reached monstrous levels of atrocity, and which today sometimes seems to resurface, rooted in stupidity and spreading hatred".

The Hamas attack on Israel triggered an unprecedented escalation in the Middle East. Over time, even the defensive response by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has crossed the line, causing too many innocent and defenseless victims in their attacks on the Hamas regime. In this regard, Giorgia Meloni, supporting U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan, emphasized that “we all have a duty to do everything within our power to ensure this precious and fragile opportunity succeeds”.

The release of hostages and a glimpse of hope, in recent days, now seem within reach. The United States and the European Union, following the Trump plan, reflect optimism, hoping for a diplomatic solution and the consolidation of two distinct states in the Middle East.