One year and a few days after the October 7, 2023 Simchat Torah Shabbat invasion and horrific massacre in southern Israel by thousands of Hamas-led terrorists, the first national day of mourning to mark the event is being observed with various events in the State of Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant led a memorial ceremony at Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem to honor the IDF soldiers killed in the October 7 Hamas attacks and the ensuing conflict.
The Israeli leaders paid tribute to the fallen and highlighting the country’s resilience as the war continues to eradicate the Hamas threat in Gaza, and the Hezbollah threat in Lebanon. All cabinet ministers, heads of the defense and security establishments and key lawmakers attended the ceremony, during which wreaths were for the fallen were presented by Netanyahu, Herzog, Gallant, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Israel’s Supreme Court Chief Justice and families of the fallen, including Israeli Druze and Jewish relatives of the fallen and of those still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
The national day of mourning is also being observed at the Western Wall Plaza, where the national flag at the center of the plaza was lowered to half-mast.
Throughout the day, worshippers at the Western Wall studied chapters of the Mishnah in memory of the murdered and fallen martyrs of the Iron Swords War. They also recited chapters of Psalms, praying and hoping for the quick return of the hostages, the safety and well-being of IDF soldiers and security forces fighting on various fronts, comfort for the bereaved families and communities, the return of evacuees to their homes, the healing of the wounded, and peace and security for Israel.
“God, full of compassion, dwelling on high, grant proper rest under the shelter of the Divine Presence, in the heights of the holy, pure, and heroic ones who shine like the brightness of the firmament, to the souls of the holy martyrs, Israeli citizens — men, women, and children — who were killed, murdered, burned, and massacred by Hamas terrorists, and who sanctified God’s name in the cruel attack on the settlements of the State of Israel,” prayed the Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch.
“And to the souls of the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, the police officers of Israel, and the members of the security forces who sacrificed their lives for the sanctity of God’s name and fell heroically in the battles to defend the people and the land.
“In their merit, we pray for the elevation of their souls; may their resting place be in the Garden of Eden. May the Merciful One shelter them in the shadow of His wings for eternity and bind their souls in the bond of life. The Lord is their heritage; may they rest in peace on their resting places, and may they rise for their fate at the end of days. And let us say, Amen.”
