Israelis mourn victims of Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, gathering at massacre sites and memorials three years after the deadliest day in the Jewish state’s history. Photo: AP

Families and survivors returned to southern Israel, including the site of the Nova music festival near Reim, where more than 350 people were killed in and around the festival grounds as Hamas-led terrorists stormed across the Gaza border.

At 6:29 AM — the moment the first rockets were launched three years ago — relatives embraced and remembered loved ones, NPR reported.

The attack killed about 1,200 people and resulted in 251 being taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities.

For former hostage Elkana Bohbot, 37, Wednesday was his first Oct. 7 anniversary in Israel since his release after 738 days in Hamas captivity.

Bohbot, kidnapped from the Nova festival, said he spent much of his captivity underground, deprived of food, and forced to participate in Hamas propaganda videos.

The scars of the attack remain visible across southern Israel — and underground.

The sprawling underground complex contained electricity, running water, air conditioning, and sleeping quarters capable of housing terrorists for months.

At Nahal Oz, more than 60 soldiers and 15 civilians were killed, while 18 people were taken hostage.

Nearby Kfar Aza lost 64 residents, including children. Only about 200 people now live in the kibbutz, compared with roughly 1,000 before the massacre.

Among those attempting to rebuild their lives are twins Gali and Ziv Berman, who were abducted from Kfar Aza at age 26 and spent two years in captivity.

The brothers have since returned to soccer matches, traveled, and celebrated their 29th birthdays, but say the trauma remains.

The anniversary also underscored how profoundly Oct. 7 transformed Israel and the Middle East.

Israel subsequently fought Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and confronted Iran, Hamas' principal state sponsor.

Israelis remain divided politically over the government's response and the security failures that allowed the attack.

But memorials Wednesday centered on the victims and survivors, and on ensuring the massacre is not forgotten.

Bohbot and his wife recently welcomed a daughter, while the Berman brothers have tried to reclaim the ordinary life stolen from them.

"But we are alive," Gali Berman told The New York Times. "We take nothing for granted."