Netanyahu: “The Massacre Was the Opening Shot in Iran’s Plan to Destroy Israel”

Israel is marking today (Monday) three years since the terrorist attack on the communities near the Gaza border. The first state ceremony, organized by the Defense Ministry, began at 11:00 a.m. at the Great Leaders of the Nation Plaza on Mount Herzl, attended by President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, Police Commissioner Danny Levy, Shin Bet chief David Zini, Mossad chief Roman Gofman, government ministers, and representatives of bereaved families.

In his speech, President Herzog addressed the female surveillance soldiers who warned of Hamas’s buildup and preparations, saying: "They sensed that something was happening in the sector. They saw. They reported. They raised the alarm. But no one put together the full picture. Many months before the disaster, they wrote various messages on the wall of the shelter at the outpost, some serious and some funny. One was written with a cynical, clear-eyed view. Looking back, the message takes on a chilling meaning. It captures the story of an entire country, the story of Israel on the eve of the war. And this is what they wrote in bright pink paint: ‘Look how calmly she walks, as if Gaza isn’t beside her.’"

During his speech, the president did not mention the term "state commission of inquiry," but he called for an investigation into the failure. In the president’s words: "All of this requires us to investigate with determination and courage, without bias, and to understand: how did this happen to us?! No passage of time releases us from this obligation. There are clear conclusions that we already know we must absorb: We must not ignore warnings or troubling signs."

Herzog added: "In these days, in the midst of an election campaign, we must look at and pay attention to the flashing warning lights, the ones signaling dangerous disputes and deep division. Clearly, we are allowed to disagree, and we even have an obligation to argue, about important things, about the big questions. But we must remember: The person who disagrees with you today will live here with you tomorrow as well. Their children will grow up in the same country as your children. They will be called on to protect it, together, and to build its tomorrow, together."

The prime minister said: "We will protect our home from the predatory beasts pursuing us, and we will do it together, Jews, Arabs, Druze, Circassians, and members of other groups. The attack was the opening shot in the Iranian axis’s plan to destroy Israel, to choke us in a ring of fire. Thousands of deadly missiles aimed at our cities and communities, and nuclear bombs intended to destroy our country, to wipe it off the face of the earth."

"Thanks to the heroism of our fighters, we turned the tide and removed the immediate danger of the destruction of our citizens, the destruction of the state. There are missions ahead of us, and we intend to complete them; there will be no Hamas rule in Gaza, and those who held our hostages will live on borrowed time."

The memorial day for the massacre was set according to the Hebrew date, the 24th of Tishrei. The national flag was lowered to half-staff this morning. The General Staff Forum convened at the Zikim base, where the flag was also lowered to half-staff. At 2:00 p.m., another state ceremony marking three years since the massacre will be held at the memorial site for victims of hostile acts on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, attended by Israel’s national leaders.

This morning, at 6:29 a.m., flags at IDF bases, the President’s Residence, and the Knesset building were lowered to half-staff. In an order of the day he issued, the IDF chief of staff wrote that three years ago, "the IDF failed in its supreme mission to protect the citizens of the State of Israel." He later emphasized that the army has a duty to investigate the events of October 7 and ensure that the lessons are actually implemented, declaring that the IDF will no longer allow its enemies to build up their strength unchecked.