Israelis to mark 1 year since the October 7th Hamas attack
Eyewitness News reporter Josh Einiger reports from Israel on the anniversary of the Hamas attack
ISRAEL (WABC) -- In the place now and forever known as Hostage Square, commemorations for the anniversary of October 7th are taking on an especially muted tone.
Large gatherings are curtailed because of the threat of attack from Iran.
But one year after the Hamas massacre, after 1,200 people were slaughtered, a hundred people are still in captivity in Gaza. Seven of them are American.
"On one hand it's like a year but it's more like Groundhog Day that you wake up each day and it's a continuous day over and over and over and over again," Ruby Chen, father of hostage, said.
Chen's son Itay is among the missing. The IDF believes the 19-year-old dual national, a soldier on the border, was killed when Hamas fighters poured across. His body was carried back into Gaza.
Itay's dad, and other families, had a crucial message when they met with U.S. Ambassador Jack Lew on Sunday.
"At some point, you need to say there are different ways to get to the objective of all the hostages but specifically the US hostages. This administration has an obligation to get them out and we urge them to do anything possible to get them out," Chen said.
But it's no easy task as the region inches more and more down the path to all-out war.
Overnight, Israel pummeled Beirut's southern suburbs in its ongoing campaign to destroy Hezbollah as the region braces for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's response to Tuesday's onslaught of ballistic missiles, fired by Iran into Israel's densely populated center.
RELATED: Manhattan community still holding out hope 1 year after October 7 terror attack on Israel
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