Full Breakdown
Third Anniversary Commemorations of the Oct 7 Hamas Attack
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event – Nationwide Memorials Mark Three Years Since Oct 7
On October 5 2026, the Hapoel Tel Aviv basketball club will hold a ceremony at the Shlomo Group Arena to pause its season and honor the victims of the Oct 7 massacre.
In Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park, the Kumu (“Rise Up”) movement will stage a large memorial beginning at 9:15 p.m., a program that has served as the de-facto state ceremony for the past two years and will be broadcast on major Israeli television channels.
Simultaneously, at Re’im—the site of the Nova desert rave—members of the Nova Tribe Community Association will gather at 6:29 p.m., mirroring the exact time the Hamas assault began. The ceremony will honor partygoers from the Nova, Mushroom, Psyduck and Midburn festivals who were killed that day.
A separate government ceremony is scheduled for October 5 at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl military cemetery, according to a government spokesperson.
Background & Context
On October 7 2023, Hamas militants infiltrated Israeli communities, killing 378 civilians and taking 44 hostages to Gaza. Twenty hostages were released in October 2023, and the remaining 20 were returned in a later exchange. The attack also struck several music festivals in the southern desert, including the Nova rave and the nearby Psyduck festival, which together accounted for 17 deaths.
Data & Statistics
- 378 civilians killed.
- 44 hostages taken; 20 released in October 2023, the other 20 returned later.
- 15,000 survivors and bereaved expected at the Nova ceremony.
- The Nova ceremony will feature performances by survivor-turned-Eurovision contestant Yuval Raphael.
Official Statements & Responses
A government spokesperson confirmed that the official state ceremony will be held at Mount Herzl, aligning the date with the Hebrew anniversary rather than the Gregorian calendar.
Legal experts have called for a state commission of inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Law, 1969, which requires the President of the Supreme Court to appoint its chair and members.
Verbatim Quotes
- “We’re returning to the place where everything stopped,” — Reef Peretz, CEO of the Nova Tribe Community Association
- “It is very difficult for me to return there, very painful and even frightening, to stand before all the dear people who lost what was most precious to them and sing, but it is the only and exact place where I want and need to be, and I am grateful for the enormous privilege of doing so,” — Yuval Raphael
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
No substantive discrepancies appear among the sources regarding the scale of the commemorations or the casualty figures. However, the timeline for establishing the legally required state commission of inquiry remains unclear, and no specific deadline has been announced.
*This article synthesizes reporting on the third-anniversary memorials for the Oct 7 Hamas attack and the ongoing legal debate over a state commission of inquiry.*