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Commemorations began at 6:29 a.m. local time, the exact moment the attack started in 2023, with events spanning more than 400 locations including the Nova festival site and multiple kibbutzim, according to CNN. A minute of silence was observed at noon across schools, universities, hospitals and public spaces, as reported by The Jewish Chronicle. Former prime minister Naftali Bennett spoke at the Alumim shelter where Nova attendees had sought refuge, stating that a terrible disaster had occurred on that ground three years earlier. The day’s events included protests and calls from bereaved families for a state commission of inquiry into the failures that allowed the assault.
Memorials at the Nova festival site near Kibbutz Re’im remembered more than 370 people killed there and 44 abducted, with additional ceremonies at Kfar Aza where 64 residents died and 19 were taken hostage, a figure confirmed across multiple Israeli outlets including Ynet. Families gathered at bomb shelters, road junctions and the yellow rubbish container where some festival-goers had hidden, according to Euronews. The October Council, representing families of hostages and survivors, issued a statement bowing heads alongside more than 2,200 families who lost loved ones in the massacre and subsequent war. An exhibition titled ‘The Space Left Behind’ opened at the Peres Center displaying personal belongings of victims.
A national memorial ceremony at Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv drew tens of thousands for the evening event organized by the Kumu movement, hosted by former hostage Eli Sharabi and actress Shani Cohen, Israel Hayom reported. Sharabi, whose wife and two daughters were killed at Kibbutz Be’eri, told the gathering, “This morning, the day of Shabbat, we have lost so much. We lost friends, relatives, our homes, entire communities that were devastated. We lost those we loved the most, we lost our sense of trust, we lost a part of our innocence, and our hearts burned.” Artists including Shlomo Artzi, Miri Mesika and Harel Skaat performed during the program that was broadcast nationwide. Ido Yakir, a security team member from Kibbutz Magen, recited the Yizkor prayer at the event.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lit a memorial candle and stated that Israel had settled the score with the attackers, while an IDF intelligence briefing shared with the cabinet indicated that 4,000 of the approximately 6,000 infiltrators from that day had been killed, according to The Jerusalem Post. A comprehensive report updated by a British parliamentary group in March 2026 placed the death toll at 1,182 with over 4,000 injured and citizens from 44 nations among the victims or hostages. The assessment found that planning for the assault included detailed instructions from Hamas leadership and involved acts of murder, torture and sexual violence at multiple sites.
This anniversary marks the first on which all surviving hostages have returned home following a ceasefire agreed nearly a year earlier, a milestone noted by Euronews and a Washington Post tracking of the 251 originally taken. Violence has persisted in Gaza despite the truce, with living conditions remaining severe for the 2.1 million residents there, as detailed in assessments from regional monitors. Netanyahu’s office added that operations continue against remaining perpetrators, while families at the memorials emphasized both remembrance and the need for accountability in preventing future attacks.
