NETANYA, Israel — Israelis gathered Wednesday to remember the 1,200 people killed in the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, as Palestinians in Gaza continued to live with the consequences of the war Israel launched in response. Families held commemorations at memorials, bomb shelters and the site of the Nova music festival in southern Israel, where militants abducted 251 people. This year’s observances are the first since all hostages have returned home. The Israeli government held official memorial services Oct. 5, closer to the anniversary on the Hebrew calendar. For Elkana Bohbot, 37, the anniversary marked his first in Israel since his release after 738 days in captivity. Abducted from the festival, he said he spent much of that time underground in a dark, damp tunnel, confined with other hostages and given little food. He has since undergone physical and emotional rehabilitation, written a book and begun speaking publicly. Bohbot and his wife welcomed a daughter in August. He said the child represented a promise he made to himself in captivity to give his 5-year-old son a sibling. “This child is the message for you that we were here, and we will always be here forever,” he said. In Gaza, where no anniversary events were expected, around 90% of the population has been displaced, often more than once. Large areas of cities have been reduced to rubble, and restrictions on goods and aid have contributed to severe hunger. More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not separate civilian and militant deaths in its figures. The ministry says about half those killed were women and children; U.N. agencies and independent experts generally consider its totals reliable. A ceasefire that took effect nearly a year ago has halted the heaviest fighting, but Israeli strikes have continued. Israel says it targets Hamas militants. Gaza’s Health Ministry says 1,145 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began; seven Israeli soldiers have also died during that period. The anniversary arrives amid deep divisions in Israel over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war and his reluctance to order an official inquiry into failures surrounding the Oct. 7 attack. A contentious Israeli election is scheduled for later this month. The war has also coincided with a widening regional confrontation. Israel has occupied areas in southern Lebanon amid its conflict with Hezbollah, which began firing on Israel in 2023 in support of Hamas; more than 300,000 people in Lebanon remain displaced. Israel and the United States have also attacked Iran’s military and nuclear program in two rounds, unsettling global markets. Violence has increased in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where extremist settlers have attacked Palestinians and damaged their property. Hamas framed its 2023 attack as a response to decades of Israeli occupation, land seizures and settlement construction. But the prospect of an independent Palestinian state appears more distant after three years of war and upheaval.