“Shiri, Ariel and Kfir. Sorry. Sorry that you are up there and I am here. I love you more than anything in the world. Always. Forever.”

Yarden Bibas former Israeli hostage whose wife and two young sons were killed in captivity in Gaza, in an Instagram post today Willie Geist: It’s been three years since the attacks of Oct. 7 — the deadliest single day in Israel’s history. At dawn, Hamas terrorists stormed across the border, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage.

I remember waking up that morning in shock, unable to believe what we were seeing and hearing. Militants gunning down young people fleeing from the Nova music festival. Shooting the wounded at point-blank range. Ambushing those seeking refuge in bomb shelters, refrigerators, and dumpsters. Jonathan Lemire: More Jews were killed on Oct. 7 than on any day since the Holocaust.

For many Israelis, it was a personal tragedy. So, too, for families in Gaza, where the war that followed has killed tens of thousands of people.

The geopolitical ramifications have also been profound. Three years on, Hezbollah has been badly weakened, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad has fallen, and Israel and the United States have gone to war with Iran.

Inside Israel, questions remain about what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knew before the attack. Reports say he was warned by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, which he has denied, and there has still been no official state inquiry.

Polls suggest a very close race for Netanyahu in this month’s election. But that’ll be a day for politics. Today is a day for mourning and remembering.

Over the past three years, we’ve spoken to so many families on “Morning Joe” — those whose loved ones were killed on that horrible day and those who waited and hoped that a family member held hostage would come home.

So many of them have become part of our show’s family, talking so eloquently and beautifully about the people they lost. I’m thinking about them this morning — and about their fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters who never came home.

MORNING JOE FAMILY MEETING Every Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET, MS NOW Members can join a live conversation with Joe Scarborough If you are interested in asking Joe a question directly over video, please let us know. These questions can be about politics, news of the day, or anything else that’s on your mind!

Participants will need to complete a short pre-interview and be available from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 13 to take part.

If you’re interested, please fill out this form by Friday, Oct. 9. Participants will be notified via email if selected.

CHARTS OF THE DAY WHAT THEY SAID John Heilemann on the state of the race“We all have to caveat it and say, ‘You never know what’s going to happen.’ But almost always, what you see four weeks out is what you get on Election Day. Democrats have a right to feel not overoptimistic, but way more confident.”

Skye Perryman on DHS and voter data“We obtained evidence that the Department of Homeland Security and ICE are investigating voter rights groups and have collected 48 million records on individual Americans from ‘unknown sources.’ That’s about a quarter of the voting public. It continues to confirm that this administration is trying to weaponize the federal government to undermine elections and intimidate voters.”

Dr. Vin Gupta on the plague threat“This is a very lethal bacterium, not a respiratory virus like flu or Covid that can spread like wildfire. We sometimes see scattered cases in the United States, and that should give us a sense of the very low risk to the U.S. population. I should also add the irony of this administration holding Russia to account on international health regulations, when we stepped away from the WHO and didn’t sign onto pandemic accords.”

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