On 7 October last year, Israel experienced one of the deadliest attacks in its history.
Palestinian Hamas militants launched a coordinated attack targeting a festival near Kibbutz Re'im, just across the Gaza border, and several other locations in southern Israel.
The attack killed 1205 people, most of them civilians, and took hundreds hostage. It was a day that changed the region forever and marked the beginning of a year of intense violence and deepening conflict.
The Nova music festival, held in the Negev desert, became the most tragic site of the attack.
At least 370 festival-goers lost their lives after heavily armed militants stormed the event and shot visitors as they tried to escape.
In the aftermath of these actions, the festival grounds are littered with abandoned belongings, burnt-out vehicles and other scars from that terrible day.
In response, Israel launched a massive military offensive against Gaza within hours of the attack - an operation that has continued ever since.
The Gaza Strip, home to 2.4 million people, has been devastated by the incessant bombardment, with much of the territory reduced to rubble.
According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, more than 41 870 people have died in Gaza since the start of the Israeli offensive, most of them civilians, a figure confirmed as credible by the United Nations.
As the first anniversary of the attack is marked, Israel is once again in the midst of war, this time against Hezbollah in Lebanon, while preparing for potential retaliation against Iran.
The rocket barrage launched by Tehran last week has contributed to a heightened sense of insecurity, raising fears of a wider regional conflict. | BGNES
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