Israeli President Isaac Herzog opened the national day of remembrance for October 7 by lowering the Israeli flag to half-mast at 6.29am, the exact minute the attack began in 2023, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem.
He said that the flag-lowering was "a sign of remembrance and honour for the murdered and the fallen in the terror attack of October 7 and the 'Swords of Iron' War," adding in an X post that Israel remembers "the women, the men, the children, the infants, the elderly, the civilians and the soldiers who were murdered and fell in the terror attack and war".
"On this day, we also salute everyone who was wounded in body and soul and bear the wounds of October 7 and the war – even in these days," his statement concluded.
Flags at the Knesset were also lowered to half-staff at the same time in an official ceremony attended by senior parliamentary leadership, who laid wreaths at the plaza's monuments commemorating fallen soldiers and victims of hostile acts.
The National Remembrance Day for the October 7 Disaster and Swords of Iron War is officially observed annually on the Hebrew date of Tishrei 24, shifting to the 25th if it falls on Shabbat as it did this year.
The day is dedicated to mourning those murdered in the massacres and fallen during the Gaza War, alongside honouring those injured in body and soul.
Later on Monday, Herzog was scheduled to address state memorial ceremonies on Mount Herzl honouring fallen soldiers and terror victims, followed by hosting Salon Otef, an initiative sharing the stories of former hostages and bereaved families with the public, at the President's Residence, focusing on the story of Omri Miran and his wife, Lishay Miran-Lavi.
Miran was freed and reunited with his wife and their two daughters in October 2025 after enduring more than two years in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also attending back-to-back state memorial services on Mount Herzl.
At 11 am, the premier attended the state memorial ceremony in the Great Leaders of the Nation section, honouring members of the IDF and security services who fell during the war.
Later in the afternoon, Netanyahu will participate in the state ceremony on Mount Herzl dedicated to the victims of the October 7 terrorist attacks and honouring acts of heroism.
The IDF's General Staff Forum held a memorial ceremony and a minute of silence at 6.29 am at the Zikim base near the Gaza border.
"Today, three years later, an entire nation bows its head and mourns," Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said in a military order issued on Monday morning.
"The IDF failed in its most important mission to protect the civilians of the State of Israel," Zamir wrote.
"In the wheat fields, in the orchards, in the homes of the kibbutzim, and in the cities of the western Negev, in the places where roots of life and settlement had been planted, the enemy sowed fire, destruction, and ruin. Roads that connected communities became combat routes.
“Our fields became battlefields, and family homes became sites of massacre and abduction.”
He also stressed the IDF's duty "to investigate and ensure that the lessons are implemented, so that we may be more worthy of the trust the people have placed in us".
And he praised the conscripts, reservists and civilian employees who answered the call on October 7.
Since that day, he said, the IDF has "fought in arenas near and far, defended communities and borders, struck our enemies and dismantled capabilities that threatened Israeli civilians," he went on.
"We rescued and returned hostages, changed, and developed new ways to confront threats.
"This is the spirit of victory, the spirit our enemies will never be able to break.”
Israel's Defence Ministry said on Sunday that 1,318 members of Israel's security forces have been added to the nation's official roll of slain personnel since the start of the war.
The total includes IDF soldiers, Israel Police officers, Shin Bet personnel, Israel Prison Service and Fire and Rescue Authority members, civilian security coordinators and members of civilian rapid-response squads.
More than 7,150 people have joined Israel's bereaved-family community during that period, including 2,143 parents, 355 widows, 880 orphans and 3,772 siblings, according to the ministry.
Separately, the National Insurance Institute said 1,029 civilians have been killed in terrorist attacks since October 7, excluding security personnel and members of local rapid-response squads. The civilian toll includes 668 men, 361 women, 88 foreign nationals, and 63 children under age 18.
The institute said it has been treating 87,286 additional victims of hostile acts since October 7, including 24 amputees.
Of 43,004 civilians who filed hostile-act disability claims, 40,542 have had a disability determined: 34,955 for psychological injury, 3,208 for physical injury and 2,379 for combined physical and psychological injuries. The remaining claims are still before medical committees.
Of the civilians killed, 778 were murdered on October 7 itself, including 70 foreign nationals. Another 251 were killed during the subsequent war period, including 18 foreign nationals.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Washington stands "shoulder-to-shoulder" with Israel.
Comparing the assault to the 9/11 attacks, Huckabee said Israel and the US shared “Judeo-Christian values” and faced “the same terrorist enemies that seek to destroy us," adding that "they will not prevail”.
“The Jewish people have faced a significant surge in antisemitism," Huckabee said.
“This irrational Jew-hatred targets not only Jews around the world but also obsessively slanders the one and only Jewish state with libellous and baseless accusations.
“We strongly stand with Israel and the Jewish people. We pray for the victims, their families and the survivors. May their memories be a blessing.”
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