Israel will mark 1,000 days since the October 7 massacre and the start of the Swords of Iron war with a nationwide day of remembrance, protest and public events Thursday, led by the October Council, a group representing more than 1,500 bereaved families, survivors of Hamas captivity and survivors of the massacre.
The central event will be held at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, where organizers say the square will be renamed Memory Square for the day. Events are expected to include exhibits of personal items belonging to those murdered, fallen soldiers and hostages, screenings of survivor testimony and a main rally at 8 p.m.
The 1,000-day commemorations began Wednesday evening with a rally at the Sha’ar HaNegev Junction. Participants included Yael Adar, whose son Tamir was returned from captivity in Gaza for burial in Israel; Nahal Oz massacre survivor Amir Tibon; Ali Khamais Al-Ziadna, four of whose relatives were kidnapped to Gaza; Maccabit Berman, the aunt of captivity survivors Gali and Ziv Berman; and Meirav Cohen, who survived the massacre at Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha.
ynet has learned that organizers are expected to block major roads across the country during Thursday’s protest day.
At 6 a.m., a sand installation will be set up on the beach opposite the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. At 6:29 a.m., marking the exact time Hamas launched its attack on October 7, protests will begin at several sites, including Goma Junction, Karkur Junction and the entrance to Gedera.
At 7:10 a.m., additional protests will begin, including outside the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem and at major intersections across the country.
At 8 a.m., families of those murdered at the Nova music festival and fallen soldiers from the Gaza border communities will hold a ceremony at the Re’im parking lot. Yoram Yehudai, whose son Ron was murdered at the festival, and Liad Baram, whose son Neta fell in battle at the Nahal Oz outpost, are expected to speak. A convoy of cars and motorcycles will then depart for a route between massacre sites in the area.
Members of the October Council are calling on all Israelis to stop their activities at 10 a.m. for a minute of remembrance for the murdered and fallen. Immediately afterward, protest demonstrations will begin at French Hill in Jerusalem.
At the same time, a special film produced for the 1,000th day since the massacre will be released, featuring testimonies from captivity survivors attempting to reconstruct the attack minute by minute.
Hostages square in Tel Aviv
(Photo: Ido Erez)
At the plaza near the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, which will become Memory Square, an observation soldiers’ post from the Gaza border area will be displayed. An uninflated observation balloon will also be placed in the square as a protest over the findings of the civilian commission of inquiry into the massacre, according to which a similar balloon was not in use on October 7.
At 11 a.m., the “One Thousand Memories” exhibition will open in the square, presenting for the first time dozens of personal objects belonging to murdered civilians, fallen soldiers and hostages. Each item is meant to tell a life story and allow visitors to learn more about the person behind it.
At 1 p.m., testimonies from survivors of the massacre will be screened in the square. At 3 p.m., the “In Vain” installation will be activated, featuring hundreds of photographs and stories of murdered civilians and fallen soldiers. At 4:30 p.m., several captivity survivors will arrive at the square to share their personal stories.
At 5 p.m., one of the two yellow garbage containers in which Nova festivalgoers hid for about four hours will be placed in the square. At the same time, a protest will begin outside the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, along with a paragliding protest along Mediterranean beaches.
At 5:30 p.m., an observation balloon will be placed on the square’s traffic circle, symbolizing the balloon that was not functioning on October 7. Families of the balloon-unit soldiers will stand at the site, including Nirit Baram, whose son Neta was killed, and Rafi Ben Shitrit, whose son Elroi was killed.
Additional protests across the country are expected to begin at 6 p.m. At the same time, families from the October Council will take the stage in Tel Aviv and tell the public what has happened to them since that day.
At 7 p.m., organizers plan to march from Savidor Central train station to the square. At 8 p.m., the main rally will begin, during which Hostages Square will be renamed Memory Square.