Hundreds of people gathered for a memorial service in Tokyo for victims of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
About 250 attendees observed a moment of silence at the event in Shibuya on Monday, the first anniversary of the deadly attack.
The Israeli Embassy’s Charge d’Affaires ad interim, Asaf Segev, told the crowd that the tragedy that occurred one year ago was the darkest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust.
Marom Rahamim, from Israel, gave a speech. He was attending a music event when Hamas launched the surprise attack, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people.
He rushed to get in a car and drove away after seeing a rocket exploding in the air. But he later found that a friend he was separated from at the event was killed.
Rahamim said people should be grateful to be alive and to be with their loved ones.
A Jewish woman from the United States who attended the memorial service said she is praying that all hostages will be able to return home and peace will be restored.