There were mixed feelings in the air as 30,000 people attended the national memorial event at Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park Tuesday night, marking two years since Hamas’s October 7 massacre, but with Israel on the cusp of a hostage deal.
"We remember" and "we will remember" were the words repeated throughout the ceremony.
The ceremony, organized for the second year running by KUMU, opened with released hostage Agam Berger playing the theme to Schindler's List on the violin, setting the tone for what was a moving acknowledgement of Israel's mourning.
It is two years after Hamas massacred over 1,200 people and took around 250 hostage. With 48 hostages still in Gaza and the war still ongoing, the ceremony's focus was dually on the fallen and the living, the pain of loss, and the pain of being left behind.
Musical performances from some of Israel's most well-known artists were interspersed between speeches from hostage families, families of the fallen, and released hostages themselves.
Hostage Families Forum, relatives speak of memories, family
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said, “For us, and for the people of Israel who have taken to the streets week after week for two years, each of these 48 souls is a world unto themselves. Every single one of them must come home. The living need rehabilitation, and the deceased deserve burial in their homeland.”
“We are profoundly grateful to President Trump for his unwavering dedication and leadership. His deal gives us renewed hope that this nightmare may finally end and our loved ones will come home.
“After two years, Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu has had an opportunity to end this nightmare. This is the moment to reach an agreement that will end the longest war in our history and bring all 48 hostages home.”
"We are still on the journey, with 48 hostages who have not yet returned, and with families who wait, breathe, and pray for that moment," former hostage Omer Shem Tov told the crowd. "The peace we once dreamed of is still far away, but the unity, compassion, and human spark that have been revealed here are the foundation upon which we can rebuild."
He thanked the heroes who fought and died for Israel, the soldiers who continue to protect the country, and everyone "who chooses light even when it's easier to surrender to darkness."
The resolve to not give up until the remaining hostages are home stood out.
"I swear to you, I will not give up," said Viki Cohen, mother of Nimrod who remains in captivity. "An entire nation is not giving up on you."
"We will rescue you and bring you home," said Anat Angrest, mother of Matan, who is also still in Gaza. "We will bring you all home, the living and the fallen, until the very last hostage."
Galit Dan eulogized her daughter, Noya, who was murdered at the age of 13, and her mother, Carmela Dan, who was also murdered. "Two years that you are no longer here. Two years since that cursed day when Kibbutz Nir Oz became a killing field, and the entire border area turned into a battlefield. Two years since the day I became both a bereaved mother and an orphaned daughter."
"Because it’s October again - and I pray: no more bereaved mothers. No more dead."
Dan called for healing and the rebuilding of trust, instead of revenge or anger.
"We want to defeat fear and find hope," she told the audience. "It's time for that day to end, it's time for us to start living again."
The ceremony also acknowledged the deep pain and suffering of those who survived October 7 in body, but not in spirit, calling on anyone suffering with trauma to seek help. Host Tzachi Hanegbi called them "the invisible wounded", those who never fully return to who they were, and reassured them "in this battle, you are not alone."
“We came tonight to remember and give strength to the families,” David Mizrahi from Jerusalem said. “This is a painful evening of remembrance, but there is hope in the air. We believe that this time it will happen, that they will return to us.”
The widow of Igor Pivnev, a police officer who took his life in 2025 after suffering with trauma since October 7, recorded a video.
On October 7, Pivnev defended his moshav and killed 13 terrorists, but returned a different man, his partner said.
"Igor’s decline did not begin immediately. He changed, became quieter, stopped laughing, and suffered from violent outbursts.
He slept a lot, seemed depressed, spoke constantly of fallen friends, and wanted to be alone."
"One day, I tried to reach him repeatedly but got no response. Our daughter’s kindergarten teacher drove her home. They found Igor lying on the couch in his uniform, looking as if he were asleep.
When the girls called to him and he didn’t answer, his partner realized he was “cold.” I sent the girls to their room, lifted his shirt, and saw that he had shot himself in the heart."
She said Pivnev's death left “a painful silence, a deep silence, a silence that has no words.”
"October 7 is not only a day of remembrance for those we lost, it is a day of remembrance for negligence, for failed leadership, and for the abandonment of responsibility," said Yonatan Shamriz, Founder of Kumu and brother of Alon, a hostage killed by accidental IDF fire in Gaza.
He spoke of his commitment to create a better Israel, but only once all hostages are home.
"When you come home, and when this war is over, our generation will take off its uniforms, shake the ashes of the burned houses from its shoulders, and wash away the failures left to us by those before us."
"Our generation, which inherited a country bleeding, isolated, fractured, and in pain, will be the one to fix it."
Mazie Ayalon, widow of the commander of Kfar Aza's standby squad, spoke about her husband Tal’s heroism.
“At 6:29 the house shook. You left...Brave, alert, strong as always.”
She spoke of how Tal commanded, sent messages, protected everyone, saved lives even in the neighboring kibbutz, and fought until his last breath.
“Tal and his friends are no longer on alert. He rests among the earth of the place that he loved and loved him back. It’s only us widows who remain on alert, in longing, in pain, trying to cling to their path.”
Other people decided to mark the day by visiting the places that were hit hardest that day.
Orit Baron stood at the site of the Nova music festival in the South beside a photo of her daughter Yuval, who was killed with her fiancé Moshe Shuva. They were among 364 people who were shot, bludgeoned, or burned to death there.
“They were supposed to get married on February 14th, Valentine’s Day. And both of the families decided because actually they were found [dead] together and they brought them to us together [that] the funeral will be together,” said Baron.
“They are buried next to each other because they were never separated.”
Trump expresses optimism for Gaza deal
As the memorials took place, US President Donald Trump expressed optimism about progress toward a Gaza deal, with the main US delegation, including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, leaving for Egypt to attend the negotiations.
The national ceremony in Tel Aviv opened with a minute of silence, followed by a prayer for the return of the hostages by Rabbi Elhanan Danino and the Yizkor prayer by Zvi Zussman.
Particularly moving was the joint performance of Daniel Weiss - whose parents were murdered by Hamas - and Yuval Raphael - who survived October 7 and went on to represent Israel at Eurovision 2025.
Another emotional moment came during the performance of Tamir Greenberg, during which all audience members turned on the torches of their phones in silent acknowledgement.
The ceremony ended with a powerful rendition of Israel's national anthem, with a profound sense of pain for what the nation has suffered, but also a tentative hope for a better future.
In addition to the central event in Tel Aviv, other events took place throughout the day in different ceremonies across the country, particularly in communities by the Gaza border.
The official state ceremony is held according to the Hebrew date, and will take place the day after Simhat Torah.
Demonstrations for a hostage deal took place in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Netanya, and Ness Ziona.
Yanir Yagna and Uri Sela contributed to this report.