Families mark 1000 days since October 7 with protests, opening the day with march near the Knesset
The day will culminate in a mass rally at Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, which was renamed Memory Square for the occasion
It has been 1,000 days since Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, and now people across Israel are taking to the streets to remember that horrifying day and let those in power hear their voices. Events opened at 6:29 a.m., Thursday morning, the exact time Hamas launched its assault three years ago, with protests at sites including Goma Junction, Karkur Junction, and the entrance to Gedera. The commemorations were organized by the October Council, a group representing more than 1,500 bereaved families, hostage captivity survivors, and massacre survivors, which is sharply critical of the government's failure to prevent the invasion and its refusal to form a state commission of inquiry.
The council also organized a memorial convoy to tour the worst-hit sites, including the Nova festival grounds near Kibbutz Re'im, Nir Oz, Kissufim, Be'eri, Nahal Oz, and Kfar Aza, ending at a memorial site near Sderot.
A nationwide moment of silence was held at 10 a.m., after which protests will begin at French Hill in Jerusalem. At 11 a.m., the "One Thousand Memories" exhibition will open in Tel Aviv, presenting personal items belonging to murdered civilians, fallen soldiers, and hostages for the first time.
Confrontations have already broken out between police and demonstrators near the Knesset in Jerusalem.
Freed hostage Rom Braslavski, who was held in Gaza for 737 days before his release in October 2025, is expected to speak at the main evening rally. "I invite everyone to come, to be moved and to pay respects to the fallen who are no longer with us," he wrote on social media. Separately, the Kumu organization, a group of survivors and bereaved families, will hold its own memorial in Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park, apart from the state-sponsored ceremony.
More events, including a march from Savidor Central station to Memory Square, were scheduled to precede the 8 p.m. rally, at which families of victims will address the public directly.
The deadly Hamas infiltration of Israel killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw 251 taken hostage in Gaza. This act triggered a war that spread to multiple fronts, drawing in Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, both backed by Iran, as well as a direct conflict between Israel and Iran. Fighting has largely subsided across these fronts, but no permanent ceasefire has been reached, and sporadic clashes continue.