Civil memorial day set for 1,000th day since October 7 massacre

October Council announced on Thursday that Israel will mark a civilian memorial day next Thursday, the 1,000th day since the October 7 massacre. Memorial and protest events will take place nationwide, beginning at 6:29 a.m. with ceremonies in the north and south and at other remembrance and protest sites. At 10:00 a.m., the council is calling on all Israelis, workplaces, local authorities, companies, institutions and communities to stop for one minute of silence.

Later in the day, there will be convoys, installations, testimony circles, discussion sessions, a question wall, a poster exhibition and other remembrance and protest actions at dozens of locations. Hostages Square in Tel Aviv will reopen for one day and host various displays. Throughout the day, testimony circles at the square will feature bereaved families, survivors of the massacre, families of hostages, reserve soldiers, residents of the Gaza border area and residents of the north.

At 7:00 p.m., the Thousand Days march will leave Tel Aviv Savidor Center railway station, and at 8:00 p.m. a central rally will be held at the memorial square. The council said, “The 1,000th day is not just another protest day,” but a day for Israelis to stop routine and demand truth. It said that 1,000 days after the massacre, the hostages, burned communities, fallen soldiers, shattered families and “the biggest failure in the state’s history,” no state commission of inquiry has yet been established. The council urged people to join the events and wear black.

Three bereaved relatives also criticized the state’s handling of the aftermath. Reut Rechet Edri, mother of Shin Bet fighter Idan Edri, who was murdered at the Nova festival, denounced David Zini’s decision to remove a memorial display at the service headquarters. Ayal Eshel, father of lookout soldier Roni Eshel, said Israel ignored the women who warned of danger and asked how 1,000 days could pass without a state inquiry. Mansheh Manzouri, father of Norel and Ruya, who were killed at Nova, called on the public not to continue as usual and to stop life for one day, as theirs stopped for 1,000 days.