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Israel to mark Hamas massacre with annual commemorative day

Two state ceremonies will be held every year, one for the civilians massacred and another for those who perished fighting the terrorists.

IDF soldiers remove the corpses of civilians in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, near the Gaza Strip, Oct. 10, 2023. Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90.
IDF soldiers remove the corpses of civilians in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, near the Gaza Strip, Oct. 10, 2023. Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90.

The Israeli Cabinet voted on Sunday to mark Hamas’s massacre of some 1,200 people with an annual commemoration on the 24th day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei.

The event will be marked separately from the Remembrance Day (Yom Hazikaron) for the Fallen of Israel’s Wars and Victims of Terrorism, which is held on the 4th of Iyar, a day before Independence Day.

In 2024, a one-time commemorative ceremony will also be held on Oct. 7, and because the 24th of Tishrei this year coincides with Shabbat (on Oct. 26), the ceremonies will take place on Sunday, Oct. 27.

Two state ceremonies will be held every Tishrei Remembrance Day, one at 11 a.m. in honor of those killed in action in the war against Hamas, and another at 1 p.m. in memory of the civilians murdered during the terrorist group’s invasion of the northwestern Negev.

On Oct. 7, 2023, some 3,000 Hamas terrorists invaded Israel by land, sea and air, killing about 1,200 people, kidnapping 253 people back to Gaza and terrorizing hundreds of thousands more by using rape and torture as a weapon while temporarily conquering several southern Israeli communities.

Describing the move as “unprecedented and highly controversial,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it ties “the hands of his successor” and degrades the U.N.’s “rules-based order.”
Foreign Minister Sa’ar hosted his Congolese counterpart in Jerusalem to sign two Memoranda of Understanding.
“All of the terrorists were transferred to the security forces for further investigation,” authorities added.
The incident joins a series of similar ones in recent months, posing a danger to the safety of IDF troops, according to the military.
“Our goal is to safeguard our security while also expanding the circle of peace around us,” he added.
The find will be housed in an archaeology, art and innovation wing of the Tower of David Museum slated to open in late 2028.