- Herzog says Israel must investigate failings ‘without bias,’ urges country to heed ‘glaring warning lights’ ahead of election; IDF chief joins staff for moment of silence, says achievements ‘do not diminish responsibility’
As Israel officially marked the third anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his pledge to exact vengeance against all who were involved in the attack, while other officials urged accountability for the failures surrounding the onslaught.
The national day of remembrance for the attack, marked on the Hebrew calendar, falls this year on October 5. The Hebrew memorial date of Tishrei 24, established by the government, comes two days after the Simchat Torah holiday, during which the attack occurred.
Flags were lowered to half-staff at the Knesset and the President’s Residence on Monday morning to mark the day. Two state ceremonies took place at the Mount Herzl military cemetery: one for the war’s fallen soldiers, and another for the civilian victims of the attack.
Netanyahu focused both of his speeches on threatening Israel’s regional enemies and lambasting world leaders for their criticism of the Jewish state.
Others, including President Isaac Herzog and Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF chief of staff, called for accountability and a thorough investigation into the security failures that led to the brutal massacre.
The question of how the attack should be investigated has divided Israeli politics, with Netanyahu rejecting widespread calls for a state commission of inquiry, the country’s highest investigative authority, in favor of a politically led probe. In a nod to the heated campaign ahead of Israel’s October 27 election, Herzog also warned the country to turn away from polarization.
Notably absent from the ceremonies was Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who declined to attend because he did not want to share the stage with members of the sitting government “who have refused to take responsibility, blamed IDF commanders and refused to establish a state commission of inquiry,” according to Hebrew reports. He does plan to attend a memorial ceremony held by families of victims of the attack.
In his speech at the ceremony for fallen soldiers, Netanyahu pledged that Israel would continue to pursue everyone involved in the Hamas-led attack and in attacks against Israel in the wider region.
“In Gaza there will not be any Hamas rule,” he promised. “Everyone who was involved in the attack against us, everyone who held our hostages, is living on borrowed time.”
for Oct. 7, October 5, 2026
“The October 7 massacre in the Gaza border area exposed the monstrous evil of our enemies to the entire world,” Netanyahu recounted. “Infants and children, adults and the elderly, were targeted for extermination, abuse and abduction.”
He added that Israel brought back “every single one” of the 251 hostages abducted during the attack. Many families of captives have taken umbrage at that claim, saying the government missed earlier opportunities to free the hostages and to save some of the dozens who died in captivity.
“At the same time, we waged an intense war against our attackers across seven fronts,” the premier continued, praising the military’s fighting against Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and other foes.
PM heckled by bereaved father: ‘You didn’t protect my son’
In his second speech, at the ceremony for the attack’s civilian victims, Netanyahu said Israel is defending not only itself but the free world.
“When the volcano of terror and the fundamentalist hatred erupts… it doesn’t pass over Britain, it doesn’t pass over France, it doesn’t pass over the Netherlands. The Netherlands,” he repeated. The Dutch government recently enacted a new order boycotting goods from Israeli West Bank settlements.
He accused those countries of airing “blood libels” against Israel.
As Netanyahu added, “Lie begets lie, libel begets libel, and we must fight it,” a bereaved father yelled at him, “You didn’t protect my son on October 7. You didn’t protect 1,200 murdered on one day, on October 7 — shame!” causing the prime minister to pause before continuing.
Herzog appeals to look inward at Israeli society
In his own address at the first ceremony on Mount Herzl, Herzog appealed for an unbiased investigation into the security failures surrounding the Hamas attack, without explicitly calling for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry.
Israel, he said, “must investigate with determination and courage, and without bias, and to understand: How did this happen to us?”
October 7, 2023, attack, at Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, on October 5, 2026.
“No passage of time absolves us of this duty,” he said. “There are clear lessons that we already know we must internalize: We must not ignore warnings or troubling signs. And we must also look squarely at what is happening to us within our own home, from within.”
Later in his address, Herzog turned to societal strife ahead of the upcoming election.
“We must look closely at the glaring warning lights, the ones signaling deep division and dangerous disputes,” he said.
“Clearly, we are entitled to disagree, and indeed we have a duty to debate — over important matters, over the big questions,” he continued. “But we must remember: Those who disagree with you today will live alongside you here tomorrow. Their children will grow up in the same country as your children. They will be called upon to protect it, together, and to build its future together.”
In his second address, Hezog praised the everyday Israelis who, on October 7, “set out to save their sisters and brothers.” He then mentioned the Israeli passengers who thwarted the recent terror attack on the flydubai flight to Israel.
“This is Israeli heroism, unmatched anywhere in the world. We saw it again just last week, in the grave disaster averted in the skies thanks to the remarkable resourcefulness of Israeli passengers on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv,” he said.
Zamir: Security wins do not erase failures
Elsewhere in Israel, the national day of remembrance was marked with a ceremony and moment of silence at Zikim Base, which was attacked by Hamas on October 7.
Addressing the ceremony, Zamir cautioned that Israel’s security achievements over the past three years do not absolve the military for what occurred.
“Three years ago, on Simchat Torah, the IDF failed in its mission to protect the citizens of Israel. Hamas terrorists infiltrated communities and bases, massacred, abducted, and left deep destruction in their wake,” Zamir said.
“Three years have passed, and the State of Israel now faces a different security reality. Our commanders and fighters, in both the standing army and the reserves, fought on all fronts and achieved significant accomplishments,” he continued. “But even these achievements that have changed reality do not erase the failure of October 7 and do not diminish our responsibility for it.”
He added, “Out of this bitter failure and grave lapse, we must lead the way toward rebuilding and strengthening the nation.”
The ceremony at Zikim Base was attended by the General Staff Forum, families of the fallen soldiers, soldiers wounded in the battle, and others, including former hostage Avinatan Or.
October 5, 2026.
Some 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas-led invasion of October 7, and 251 were taken to Gaza as hostages.
The ensuing war between Israel and Hamas has killed over 73,400 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the enclave; the toll does not differentiate between combatants and civilians.
The Israeli military believes that Hamas’s overall toll is largely accurate, with IDF officials estimating that two to three civilians were killed for every dead terror operative. The IDF says it has killed over 24,000 combatants in Gaza and another 1,200 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
The fighting was largely halted in a US-brokered ceasefire in October 2025, although the IDF has continued to carry out targeted strikes.
The Defense Ministry on Sunday released updated figures on the country’s fallen security personnel since the Hamas attack.
Since the start of the war, 1,318 personnel have been killed. The figures include all soldiers, police officers, Shin Bet agents, firefighters, prison warders, and civilian security officers who died on and since October 7, 2023, whether in the line of duty or as a result of an accident, illness, or suicide.
The conflict has added more than 7,150 family members to Israel’s circle of bereavement, including 2,143 parents, 355 widows, 880 children, and 3,772 siblings, according to the ministry.
BY: Lazar Berman – Emanuel Fabian
