Israel Marks 1,000 Days Since October 7 With Protests, Exhibits, And Mass Rally

Israel marked 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.

“i24NEWS - Israel at war - 1,000 days of war: the IDF Chief of Staff speaks of a 'Major Strategic Turning Point' 1,000 days of war: the IDF Chief of Staff speaks of a 'Major Strategic Turning Point' Paying tribute to the victims and the soldiers killed in combat, he assures that the IDF continues to adapt to the new challenges and prepares for the road ahead in the war”

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The central event was set for Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, where organizers said the square will be renamed Memory Square, with exhibits of personal items belonging to those murdered, fallen soldiers and hostages, screenings of survivor testimony, and a main rally at 8 p.m.

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The 1,000-day commemorations began Wednesday evening with a rally at the Sha’ar HaNegev Junction, and participants included Yael Adar, whose son Tamir was returned from captivity in Gaza for burial in Israel, and Amir Tibon, a Nahal Oz massacre survivor.

At 6:29 a.m., marking the exact time Hamas launched its attack on October 7, protests were planned at sites including Goma Junction, Karkur Junction and the entrance to Gedera, and at 8 a.m. families of those murdered at the Nova music festival and fallen soldiers from the Gaza border communities were to 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, were expected to speak at that Re’im ceremony.

At a meeting with senior officers, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff General Eyal Zamir said the army stood at a 'strategic crossroads in this war' on the occasion of the 1,000th day of fighting since the pogrom carried out by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

The event began with a minute of silence in memory of those who died on October 7, the day Hamas led thousands of terrorists to attack southern Israel, which left 1,200 dead, mostly civilians, and 251 hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

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Zamir said, "Today, we are conducting an operational, strategic, and multi-front intelligence assessment on this 1,000th day of fighting," and added that "This war has changed the methods of fighting, the operational concepts, and our way of acting."

He described October 7 as "an attack on the very existence of the Jewish people," and said the memory obligates the IDF to continually change, draw lessons, and assimilate as quickly as possible the lessons the region gives us.

The Times of Israel also said the milestone would be reached on Thursday with commemorations and demonstrations against the government’s inability to prevent Hamas’s attack and its management of the war in Gaza, while protests were planned in about fifty cities in Israel.

In parallel with the 1,000-day commemorations, The Times of Israel reported that the Tekuma Directorate issued a progress report on Wednesday to mark 1,000 days since the massacre, describing post-October 7 rehabilitation of the Gaza border area.

“What remains of Hamas in Gaza”

Le Figaro

The directorate said the state directorate is operating with a NIS 17 billion ($5.7 billion) budget spread over five years, from 2024 to 2028, and that by the end of 2025 it had spent NIS 11.6 billion ($3.9 billion), representing about 67% of the total.

It reported that over 92% of the region’s residents are back home, joined by more than 5,000 new residents, and cited the Central Bureau of Statistics reporting in December that there were 65,000 residents in the region compared to about 62,000 on the eve of the October 7 attack.

Aviad Friedman, who heads the directorate, said, “Alongside the memory, pain, and loss that have been with us since that day, we see the communities returning and renewing, the settlements being rebuilt, and the trust in the future of the Gaza Envelope.”

The report also detailed that at Kibbutz Kissufim, about 180 residential and public buildings have already been or are still being renovated, and that at Kibbutz Kfar Aza residents will start going home on August 31 after Hamas terrorists slaughtered 64 of the kibbutz’s 787 residents and abducted 19 to the Gaza Strip on October 7.