From North to South: Israel bows its head in remembrance of October 7 massacre

Three years after the October 7 massacre, Israel will mark Monday, October 5, as the national memorial day for the attack and the war.

Two state ceremonies will be held at Mount Herzl, while dozens of ceremonies, rallies, testimony sessions, and memorial events will take place nationwide.

Memorial Day was established by law to take place on Tishrei 24, two days after the Simchat Torah holiday. This year, it falls on October 5, two days before the Gregorian anniversary of the attack.

Throughout the day, flags will be lowered to half-mast at state institutions, police stations, prisons, and IDF bases, while radio and television broadcasts will be adjusted to reflect the nature of the day.

It will remain a regular workday, not a public holiday, and no nationwide siren is expected to sound.

Two state ceremonies to be held at Mount Herzl

At 11:00 a.m., the national memorial ceremony for those killed by Hamas on October 7, as well as soldiers who have been killed since the outbreak of the war, will be held at Mount Herzl.

Alongside the bereaved families and senior government officials, President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Israel Police Commissioner Daniel Levy, Shin Bet chief David Zini, and Mossad chief Roman Gofman will attend.

Herzog, Netanyahu, and Katz are expected to speak.

The ceremony is expected to conclude at 12:15 p.m.

The HaLeom and International Convention Center (ICC) parking lots will open at 8:00 a.m., with free shuttles from both locations to Mount Herzl. Transportation via light rail from the Jerusalem Navon train station to Mount Herzl will also be free.

At 2:00 p.m., the national memorial ceremony for victims of terror will be held at the Victims of Hostile Acts Memorial at Mount Herzl, also in the presence of senior state officials and bereaved families. Attendees may enter between noon and 1:45 p.m.

Entry to both ceremonies must have been arranged in advance, and attendees will be asked to present identification. Weapons will not be allowed.

Education system, nation marks the day

Alongside the ceremonies at Mount Herzl, memorial events will begin across the country in the morning.

Schools across the country will also mark the day with memorial ceremonies and special activities. The Education Ministry has distributed teaching materials, documentation, and memorial content tailored to different age groups.

At 9:30 a.m., the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology will hold a memorial ceremony, and at 10:00 a.m., Nahariya will hold its municipal rally at City Hall Square.

At 11:00 a.m., a testimony session will be held in Nesher with Golan Avitbol of Kibbutz Be'eri, who will speak about the survival, loss, and recovery the kibbutz community experienced.

At the same time, a remembrance ceremony will take place at the military cemetery in Modi'in, while an educational experience marking the memorial day will be held at the National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel in Jerusalem.

At noon, Tel Aviv University will hold a rally at the memorial site opposite the Cymbalista Synagogue and Jewish Heritage Center, which will be open to the public.

An hour later, at 1:00 p.m., the Holon Institute of Technology will inaugurate a memorial monument for alumni and students who were killed during their service or during terror attacks.

From the Galilee to the Shfela: Memorial events in cities

Municipal ceremonies and community events will take place across the country during the afternoon and evening.

In Ashkelon, the municipal ceremony, "We Are All One Human Tapestry," will be held at 4:30 p.m. in the presence of bereaved families and with the participation of youth movements and several organizations.

Ninth-grade students in the city will hold flag marches from the Tomb of Sheikh Awad to the Grove of the Fallen. Afterward, they will hold discussion circles and an "escape room" activity on the war.

In Kfar Yona, the children's story hour "In Rotem's Way" will be held at 5:15 p.m. at the municipal library for children between the ages of three and six, accompanied by an adult.

In Netanya, the inauguration of the "Toward the Horizon" garden in Ramat Poleg will begin at 6:00 p.m., with the formal memorial ceremony beginning at 6:30 p.m. Participants will include the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel, Kalman Meir Ber.

Parking will not be permitted during the day in the lot at 2-4 Zalman Shazar Street due to the events.

In Herzliya, Zeev Engelmayer's exhibition, "The Daily Postcard | War Diary," will open at 6:00 p.m.

The municipal ceremony, attended by bereaved families and youth representatives, will begin at 7:00 p.m. At 8:00 p.m., the event "The Light That Brought Them Home" will feature a panel with Ilan Regev and Rabbi Elhanan Danino, both parents of former hostages.

In Bat Yam, a ceremony inaugurating a memorial for those killed throughout the war will be held at 6:00 p.m., followed at 7:30 p.m. by an evening of remembrance and commemoration marking October 7.

In Ra'anana, the public will meet with former hostage Maxim Herkin at 7:00 p.m. for the event "Coming Into the Light," at the youth complex at 11 HaTa'asiya Street. The event is intended for those aged 18 and over. Admission is free but requires advance registration.

In Gedera, gathering for the local ceremony at the Emek Hanesher amphitheater will begin at 7:00 p.m., with the ceremony starting at 7:30 p.m.

At the same time, the ceremony "Time Stood Still" will be held at the memorial garden at 6 Savion Street in Ness Ziona.

In Nesher, gathering for the event "Between Song and Story, Between Pain and Hope" will begin at 7:30 p.m. The event will start at 8:00 p.m. and will be hosted by Dan Shapira, featuring local artists.

In Modi'in, the evening "Singing in Their Memory" will be held at 8:00 p.m. at Yad Labanim House.

At the Ofra Haza Cultural Center in Petah Tikva, the event "From Memory to Hope" will take place with former hostages Luis Har and Bar Kupershtein, members of bereaved families, and relatives of hostages.

Former hostages, stories of heroism, and film

A series of events will be held throughout the evening in Rehovot.

At 5:30 p.m., a community activity will take place at the Havayot Ibn Gabirol Center, and at 7:30 p.m., a memorial ceremony will be held at the Havayot Switzerland Center, followed by a meeting with former hostage Elkana Bohbot.

The main municipal ceremony in Rehovot, "Faces and Names," will begin at 8:00 p.m. at Beit Ha'am, hosted by Almog Boker and featuring Israeli musician Eviatar Banai.

Ayelet Benjamin will speak about her late husband, Ron Benjamin, while former hostage Nimrod Cohen will recite the Yizkor prayer.

The city is also hosting the exhibition "Heroines of Iron," which presents 61 stories of heroism through portraits and works of art.

At the Holon Cinematheque, the film Safe Room will be screened at 6:00 p.m., followed at 8:30 p.m. by the film Whose Are You?, which focuses on 10 women who married members of Kibbutz Kfar Aza and the WhatsApp group they created in an effort to help one another locate their loved ones after the massacre.

Safe Room, which documents the home of the Fendel family in Moshav Shuva, which became a shelter on October 7 for wounded people and those fleeing the attack, including the two brothers of Abigail Idan, will also be screened at 8:30 p.m. at the Clore for Music and Dance Center in Misgav.

In Tel Aviv, a series of tours marking three years since October 7 will begin at 6:00 p.m. The tours will depart from 26 Eilat Street, free of charge and with advance registration, and will continue on various dates through October 20.

On October 7: A minute of silence, bereaved families' ceremony

On Tuesday, October 6, the government is expected to hold a special meeting marking the events of October 7.

A day later, on October 7, memorial events organized by the families of those murdered, families of those killed at the Nova music festival, and civil society organizations will take place.

At 6:29 a.m., the time at which the Hamas attack began, the October Council has planned a minute of silence to be held.

At 6:29 p.m., the ceremony organized by families of those killed at the Nova music festival and the nearby parties will begin at the Re'im memorial site.

At 9:15 p.m., the national memorial ceremony organized by October 7 families will be held at Ganei Yehoshua Park.