Israel held state ceremonies on Mount Herzl on Thursday as part of a national memorial day marking the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 massacre, attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, ministers, politicians, and senior IDF officials.
A state ceremony commemorating the fallen soldiers in the Israel-Hamas War took place first, followed by another honoring the civilian victims of October 7 and the war.
Netanyahu and Herzog delivered speeches in both ceremonies, commemorating the fallen and addressing the bereaved families.
“The memory of the fallen will be engraved within us for generations to come,” the prime minister said.
He spoke on the events of October 7, calling the massacre a “monstrosity in every sense of the word, a merciless slaughter of babies, children, adults, and the elderly.”
The ceremony for the civilian victims of Hamas’s October 7 massacre and the war was initiated by Shani Louk’s parents.
“On that day [October 7], we saw the photo of Shani kidnapped and lying in a white Toyota, surrounded by Gazans happily celebrating,” Louk’s mother, Ricarda, said.
“This image will be forever ingrained in our consciousnesses – our family’s, and every citizen’s in the country, along with the rest of the world’s,” she continued.
“Look at Shani’s picture. It depicts the absolute contrast between good and evil, between the beauty of humanity and its cruelty,” Louk’s father, Nissim, told the attendees.
“Today we unite in memory of Shani and the rest of the murdered dead,” he added.
The ceremony for civilians commemorated not only those lost on October 7, but also those killed by terrorism and the war since.
“Alongside the victims of the October 7 terror attack, we remember the terrible losses from all acts of terrorism during the war, including those killed by missiles launched by Iran at Israel’s cities during Operation Rising Lion,” Netanyahu said.
Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgram, who worked for the Israeli embassy in Washington and were murdered in May at an American Jewish Congress conference in DC, were also memorialized.
“All victims of terror live among us. We cling even more strongly to our homeland for them. We belong to this land, and it belongs to us,” Netanyahu said.
During the earlier ceremony for the fallen soldiers, Herzog expressed his gratitude to those who served, to those who have died in service, and to the bereaved families.
“Thank you on behalf of the State of Israel. Thank you for the sons you raised – warriors of courage who did not hesitate when called to rescue the State of Israel, to defeat the enemy, and to bring the hostages home,” Herzog said.
“Thanks to our brave sons and daughters, the bereaved families, and the wounded who have sacrificed so much – thanks to all of them, we are still here. We will never, ever forget this,” the president continued.
War not over until all hostages are home
He added that the “mission is not complete” as Israel “must do everything through every means possible to ensure that all the hostages who were killed, every last one, are brought back to their families, to their homeland, and to eternal rest.”
“One thing is hereby clear: Anyone who raises a hand against us now knows that they will pay a hefty price for their aggression,” Netanyahu said.
“We know, bereaved families, that nothing can replace those we have lost, and the terrible loss tears at our hearts. Yet we also know that thanks to the immense legacy left by the fallen, each one of them holds a place in the eternity of Israel,” he continued.
Regarding the remaining slain hostages still held by Hamas, the prime minister said, “We are committed to bringing them all back, every last one of them.”
Freed hostage Eli Sharabi, who was held captive for 491 days, made an address at the ceremony via video, relaying how his home in Kibbutz Be’eri was invaded and his wife and two daughters were murdered. His brother was also murdered while he was held in Hamas captivity.
“From the broken we will be rebuilt, by choice, by remembrance, by hope, by responsibility,” Sharabi said.
“I lost my home, but not my foundation. I lost the people most important to me, but not my faith. That’s what we can learn from the people we lost – never give up,” he said.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana lit a memorial candle to indicate the start of the national memorial day, while the flags in the Knesset were lowered to half-mast.
Kibbutz Kfar Aza held a separate ceremony commemorating the 64 kibbutz members who were murdered on October 7, 2023.