South Florida events look ahead, back one year after Hamas attacked Israel
DAVIE - Monday marks one year since the attack on Israel by Hamas, and demonstrations are happening across South Florida to commemorate the hundreds of lives lost and those held hostage since the start of the war.
Ziv Levi lives in Israel and his sister's entire family was killed while in their safe room.
"You can't really heal when you lose an entire family," he said.
Many people feel that sentiment as the war rages on. Since the start, 1,200 Israelis have been killed and at least 251 others were taken hostage. This attack is the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust.
"What happened on Oct 7 was a terrible tragedy that happened to not just Israelis but to Jews around the world and if it had ended then, that would've been one thing, but we've continued to be victims of hate and terror," President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Broward County Audra Berg said.
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks around 6 p.m. Monday at his golf course in Doral.
Temple Beth Sholom will host a "From Mourning to Hope" event at 7 p.m. Monday in Miami Beach.
In North Miami Beach, they're planning a "Before and After" day of remembrance at 7 p.m. Monday at the Julius Littman Theater
And from the Jewish Federation of Broward County's remembrance in Davie to a ceremony at Club 305 in Miami Dade, both on Sunday, the goal is to not only honor those whose lives have been forever changed but continue the fight to end the war.
"The war that they're fighting is not for just the people in Israel it's for humanity because what Hamas, the Hezbollah and Iran. What they're trying to do is not only wipe out the Jewish nation, but to wipe out the west," Rabbi Yossi Harlig of the Chabad of Kendall said.
As the war has widened, the relationship between the United States and Israel has become strained. Just this weekend, Israel has launched air strikes targeting Hezbollah and Hamas as thousands in Lebanon flee toward safety.
"I'm hoping that both sides, that [Kamala] Harris and Trump both understand the importance of the United States supporting Israel and providing all of the means necessary for Israel to defend itself," Doug Berman, chairman of the Jewish Federation of Broward County, said.
"A year of understanding the importance of coming together," U.S. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, said. "We have to make sure that we bring all the hostage's home. That we fight relentlessly to end the terrorist threat that is on Israel's doorstep and then eventually make sure that we move forward in peace."
For people like Levi, it's the resilience of his country that gives him strength to push forward.
"There will always be somebody that wants to destroy us or wants to vanish us, but we are strong," he said.
Israel retaliated to the attacks by launching strikes on the Gaza strip killing more than 40,000 Palestinians according to Gaza's Health Ministry.