Hamas attack on Israel: Shalom Austin honors lives lost

AUSTIN, Texas - October 7 marks one-year since the deadly Hamas attack on Israel.

Shalom Austin held a ceremony in honor of the lives lost and to pray for those still being held hostage.

"With only 15 million Jews worldwide, many of us have a connection to Israel. I have family and very good friends there, but many in this room today feel that connection, and we feel that we are all a part of what happened," says community volunteer Nora Lieberman.

A congregation made up of hundreds of people with yellow ribbons pinned to their shirts joined together in prayer.

"It has been a year, and it is incredible to think how long that is, but how short it actually sometimes feels, but to see the community come out together to show their support for the state of Israel, to show their love for all the Jewish people," says Congregation of Tiferet Israel Rabbi Daniel Millner.

Photos of nearly 100 hostages were put on display.

"Every day we wake up to the news, we are praying very hard to get the hostages back, babies were taken, families were taken, elderly were taken," says Lieberman.

"There is a great deal of sadness that is still here, we have hostages that are still in Gaza, we have soldiers that are being killed, we have people in Israel that are being displaced, and we are hoping for an end to this," says Millner.

During the memorial ceremony, there were candles passed out to everyone in honor of those who lost their lives over the past year.

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"In Jewish tradition, memorial candles are lit to signify the passing of a person. Our tradition describes the flicker of a candle as the soul of a person, it is a way to hold on to that memory, a way to hold onto that individual even if they are not here with us physically," says Millner.

Governor Greg Abbott took to social media to remember the seven Americans that are still being held hostage and asked media outlets to list their names on Monday morning and hold a statewide moment of silence.

"It is a very deep feeling of pain, loss and brokenness in the Jewish community," says Millner.

"This has been a tragic event for our community and for many in the Jewish community, it has been such a difficult year," says Lieberman.

There were nearly 1,200 lives lost as a result of a conflict in the Middle East.