Israel-Gaza live updates: Hamas publishes names of 20 living Israeli hostages to be released

Two years on from Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Israelis are mourning the 1,200 people killed in the attack and remembering the 251 people taken hostage.

The anniversary falls on Sukkot, a weeklong Jewish holiday that follows Yom Kippur. Government offices are closed as are some businesses. The official government marking of the anniversary will take place on Oct. 16.

Throughout Tuesday morning, crowds of people returned to the site of the Nova Festival in southern Israel close to the Gaza frontier. They laid flowers, lit candles and held a minute's silence in memory of more than 360 people killed there by Hamas on Oct. 7.

This evening in Tel Aviv, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum will hold an event in Hostages Square. Thousands of people are expected to attend.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti

Large explosions were reported across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday as the warring parties marked the two-year anniversary of Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack and the start of the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday morning that at least 67,100 people have been killed by Israeli action in Gaza since the outbreak of the conflict.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti

Asked if he expects a Gaza or hostage deal on Tuesday, which will mark two years since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, President Donald Trump said, "I think we’re going to have it soon."

"It's a hard thing for me to say that when for years and years, they’ve been trying to have a deal with Gaza," Trump said while taking questions in the Oval Office on Monday. "But we're going to have a Gaza deal, I'm pretty sure, yeah."

He cited the support of countries including Turkey and Saudi Arabia in trying to reach a peace deal.

"Everybody is on our side to get this deal done," he said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration is "working very hard to move the ball forward as quickly as we can" as the ceasefire talks are underway.

"Technical talks" are ongoing and joined by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, she said during a press briefing Monday afternoon.

"[President Donald Trump] wants to see a ceasefire. He wants to see the hostages released, and the technical teams are discussing that as we speak, to ensure that the environment is perfect to release those hostages," Leavitt said. "They're going over the lists of both the Israeli hostages and also the political prisoners who will be released."

Leavitt did not address how long the White House expects technical talks to last or if Trump is providing Hamas a new timeline to reach an agreement on his peace plan.