Israelis paused for a two-minute silence on Monday as memorial sirens sounded across the country, honouring the war dead while air raid sirens warned of incoming shells from the ongoing conflict sparked by the October 7 Hamas attack.
The traditional silence was observed on Israel’s annual Memorial Day, a day before Independence Day, with a new vigil held at the site of a music festival where over 350 revellers were killed.
Grief-stricken relatives stood before pictures of the dead erected across a desert field, lighting candles and praying.
President Isaac Herzog opened commemorations at Jerusalem’s Western Wall on Sunday evening, wearing a torn shirt collar as a Jewish mark of mourning.
Armed forces chief Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi took personal responsibility for the failure to stop the cross-border rampage by Palestinian gunmen, the deadliest day in Israel’s history.
Much public anger has focused on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, with many questioning his political liability.
Netanyahu has sidestepped these questions, framing the war as a showdown with Tehran and a necessary struggle for Israel’s existence.
During his speech, Netanyahu was heckled by a mourner who lost children in the conflict, shouting “Garbage. There’s nothing to respect here, he killed my children.”
The mourner’s outburst reflected mixed views on the government, with almost half of the public (48%) wanting ministers to sit out memorial events at military cemeteries.
Since the October 7 attack, over 1,200 people have been killed, and more than 250 kidnapped.
A further 273 Israeli soldiers have died, mostly in the assault on Gaza, which Palestinian medics say has killed over 35,000 people.
Swathes of Israel have been evacuated in the south near Gaza and in the north on the border with Lebanon, both of which saw air raid alerts on Monday.
Commentator Chen Artzi-Sror wrote in Yedioth Ahronoth that this year’s Memorial Day was not a day of remembrance, as the “ongoing present of sorrow and loss” was not yet in the past.
The conflict has created an uncertain daily routine, with brothers and sisters held hostage, entire areas empty of residents, and a growing list of fallen and wounded.
While surveys have found broad Israeli support for the war, views on the government are mixed.
The country continues to navigate the complexities of conflict and remembrance, seeking a path towards peace and resolution.
