About 1,200 Israelis were killed Oct. 7 during Hamas’ terrorist attack exactly one year ago, a rampage of rape, torture, and murder in southern Israel. The terrorists took another 240 as hostages.

Hostage negotiations remain stalled, with little progress in recent weeks.

An Israeli-American hostage, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was murdered in the Gaza Strip about a month ago after enduring 11 months in captivity. His body was recovered in Gaza.

The bodies of three other Americans—Itay Chen, Judy Weinstein, and Gad Haggai—also are believed to be in Gaza.

Some details on the four Americans believed to be alive:

Edan Alexander

Alexander, now 20, was born in Tel Aviv but grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey. He was serving in Israeli’s Golani Brigade when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel. Alexander spoke to his mother on the morning of the attack and told her he was safe; shortly thereafter, his parents were unable to reach him.

Sagui Dekel-Chen

On Oct. 7, Dekel-Chen was living in Kibbutz Nir Oz with his wife and two daughters. He was busy at work that morning when he saw Hamas terrorists entering the kibbutz.

Dekel-Chen climbed onto the roof of the Kibbutz’s communal dining room to issue a warning before running home to his family. Finding them in a bomb shelter, he went back into the kibbutz to fight off the terrorists.

He was one of about 80 residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz to be taken hostage that day.

Dekel-Chen’s third daughter was born during his captivity.

Omer Neutra

Neutra was born in New York City in 2001. After high school, Neutra took a gap year and participated in a leadership program in Israel.

After a year there, Neutra decided to join the Israel Defense Forces and became a tank commander. On Oct. 7, he was serving close to Israel’s border with Gaza.

Neutra’s tank was found empty shortly after the terrorist attack.

Keith Siegel

Siegel and his wife were taken from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 7. Aviva Siegel was released Nov. 26, but her husband remains a hostage in Gaza.

Siegel, 65, is originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He and his wife hid in their safe room during the Hamas attack, but terrorists found them and took them from their home.

Aviva Siegel said terrorists shoved her husband, breaking his ribs, and shot him in the hand.

As Israelis and Americans mark the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, Yael Eckstein, president and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, sits down with The Daily Signal.

In the interview, Eckstein talks about how the day will be remembered in Israel and what life has been like in the Jewish state since the attack.

This makes Haliva the first senior officer to resign over Oct.7, and comes as large Israeli protests have persisted in reaction to the Netanyahu government’s failure to achieve the safe return of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas.

A military announcement confirmed the resignation has been approved by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. According to a statement in Israeli media, “Alongside Haliva, other top defense officials have said they bear responsibility for the deadly invasion carried out by Hamas on October 7, including the head of the Shin Bet security agency and the IDF chief of staff.”

As for these additional officials, “None of them has announced plans to resign as of yet, though many are expected to do so once the security situation stabilizes,” Times of Israel reports.

There’s been widespread questioning as to how Hamas and other Palestinian militants were able to breach Israel’s southern borders with ease on Oct.7 – even overrunning IDF border outposts, amid the deadly attack on the Nova music festival. Israel has some of the most sophisticated and advance surveillance systems in the world.

Over 1,160 people were killed, mostly civilians, and more than 240 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage, but many of the captives have since died. The security failures of Oct.7 are still under investigation and are likely to be scrutinized for years to come.

But Al Jazeera observes that Gen. Haliva’s resignation from the top military intelligence post is also political and relates to PM Netanyahu’s handling of the crisis and ongoing war in Gaza:

Akiva Eldar, an Israeli author and former columnist with Haaretz newspaper, says Major-General Halavi quit likely because Netanyahu isn’t going to end the war on Gaza anytime soon.

Eldar added another reason is that the prime minister “is not interested in bringing the captives back to Israel”.

“Netanyahu is the highest authority and he never took responsibility [for the Hamas attack] so Haliva wanted to send a personal message to tell him, ‘If I can do it, you can do it,’” he said.

As for the Israeli military’s own internal investigation into Oct.7 security and intel failures, it is expected to look the way back to 2018 in terms of scope.

The following areas will focus of a deep investigation: “The main subjects being investigated by the General Staff are: the development of the IDF’s perception of Gaza, with an emphasis on the border, starting in 2018; the IDF’s intelligence assessments of Hamas from 2018 until the outbreak of the war; the intelligence and decision-making process on the eve of October 7, as well as the days leading up to it; and the command and control, formations, and orders given during battles between October 7 and 10, when troops restored control over all communities and army bases in southern Israel that had been invaded by Hamas,” according to Times of Israel.