Tens of thousands of Israelis filled Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square on Motzoei Shabbos, just three days before the country’s Knesset elections, demanding the establishment of an independent state commission of inquiry into the failures that allowed Hamas to carry out its October 7, 2023, massacre. Organizers estimated that more than 100,000 people participated, although police did not provide an official attendance figure.

The massive demonstration, attended by leading opposition politicians, brought together bereaved families, survivors of the Hamas attacks, and former hostages who are demanding a comprehensive investigation into the security, intelligence, and government failures surrounding the deadliest terrorist attack in Israel’s history.

The rally was organized by the October Council, an organization representing families affected by the massacre that has spent years pressing for an independent investigation. Organizers deliberately scheduled the gathering for the final Motzei Shabbos before Tuesday’s election, seeking to make the issue of accountability a central subject of the campaign.

Participants crowded Hostages Square outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, with the gathering spilling into surrounding streets. Many carried Israeli flags, while others displayed photographs of relatives murdered during the Hamas attacks or killed while being held captive in Gaza.

The demonstration attracted several of the most prominent figures in Israel’s opposition, including Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman, Democrats chairman Yair Golan, and B’Yachad leaders Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid.

Eisenkot received an enthusiastic reception when he arrived at the square, with sections of the crowd chanting, “Who’s coming? The next prime minister.”

Golan led supporters of his party in a march from Rabin Square to the main gathering at Hostages Square, where speakers repeatedly called for the establishment of a commission with the authority to examine the decisions and failures preceding the October 7 massacre.

The central demand of the demonstration was the creation of a state commission of inquiry, Israel’s highest-level independent investigative body, which would have the power to summon witnesses, obtain documents, examine government and military conduct, and issue findings concerning responsibility for the disaster.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has resisted establishing such a commission under the existing framework, arguing that a panel whose members are selected by the judiciary would be biased against his government.

Opposition leaders and many bereaved families maintain that only an independent state commission can provide a credible accounting of the events leading up to October 7 and the failures that enabled thousands of Hamas terrorists to infiltrate southern Israel.

Among the speakers was Elhanan Danino, whose son Ori was one of six hostages murdered by Hamas terrorists in captivity in August 2024.

Danino accused the government of failing to take the necessary steps to uncover the truth about the massacre, more than three years after the attack.

“A little over three years after that bitter and terrible day on which our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters, were abducted, massacred, burned, raped and murdered, the leadership has still not made the decision to carry out the most important and necessary thing — an investigation into the truth,” Danino said.

He questioned why successive efforts to establish an official investigation had not produced a commission capable of examining the government’s conduct.

“Whoever evades forming a state commission of inquiry probably has a reason,” he said. “It’s been three years, and they still haven’t found the time to form even a parliamentary or governmental commission of inquiry, probably because there’s something to hide.”

Danino also described the personal anguish that has accompanied him since his son’s abduction, explaining that he has struggled even with the customary Motzei Shabbos greeting of wishing others a good week.

“But I’ll wish us all a week of good news,” he told the crowd, drawing applause.

Another speaker, Mali Zender, whose daughter Noa was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Nova music festival, spoke about the national implications of the massacre and the responsibility of the government to investigate what happened.

“Tonight I am not standing here just to tell about my personal pain, because the massacre that took place here is not a private tragedy — it is the greatest national disaster in the history of the country,” she said.

Zender urged Israelis to participate in Tuesday’s election, emphasizing that her appeal was not intended as an endorsement of any particular candidate.

“I stand here three days before the most fateful elections of our entire lives here, and I am not asking you to vote for one candidate or another. First and foremost, I am asking you to go out and vote, to do what our children cannot do themselves and vote on their behalf as well — to choose responsibly,” she said.

Eyal Eshel, whose daughter Roni was among the female IDF surveillance soldiers killed at the Nahal Oz military base on October 7, also addressed the demonstrators.

Eshel has been among the bereaved parents demanding answers about the failures that preceded the attack, including the handling of warnings and intelligence concerning Hamas activity along the Gaza border.

“No one has taken responsibility to this day. I want to remind everyone that this was the greatest disaster in the history of the State of Israel,” Eshel said.

He questioned the government’s position that it should determine the mechanism through which its own actions would be investigated.

“How is it possible that those who are required to provide answers want to decide for themselves who will investigate? Is this what accountability looks like? I am a bereaved and broken father, but I am also a father who will never stop fighting for the truth.”

Former hostage Danielle Aloni, who was abducted to Gaza with members of her family and released after 49 days, spoke about the lasting consequences of the attack for the families who endured Hamas captivity.

“On that day, it wasn’t just people who were taken from us. We were also robbed of the basic sense of security that allows us to wake up in the morning, send our children to kindergarten or school, and know they will come home,” Aloni said.

Referring to her daughter Emilia, who was also held hostage, Aloni said the coming election represented an opportunity to shape the future facing the next generation.

“I cannot give [my daughter] Emilia back the childhood that was taken from her, but I can fight for the childhood that still lies ahead of her. In three days, we can start writing a different story for our children.”

Opposition leaders used the gathering to reiterate their commitments to establish an independent investigation if they are able to form the next government.

Golan declared that his party would seek to begin that process immediately following the election.

“Starting this coming Wednesday, we will work to establish a state commission of inquiry that will bring the truth to light and do justice to the families,” Golan said. “This is our duty. This is our mission. We will rehabilitate, build and repair. This is our calling.”

The demonstration also became the subject of a legal dispute in the days leading up to Motzei Shabbos.

Netanyahu’s Likud party submitted a petition to the Central Elections Committee on Thursday seeking to prevent major television networks from broadcasting the gathering, arguing that its proximity to Election Day and the involvement of opposition politicians made it a form of election propaganda.

Justice Noam Sohlberg, chairman of the Central Elections Committee, rejected the petition, determining that the request lacked a sufficient factual foundation to justify the proposed restrictions.

Ahead of the gathering, the October Council also contacted Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy, warning that individuals allegedly connected to coalition parties might attempt to disrupt the demonstration.

Organizers said they had received information suggesting that provocateurs could attempt to introduce unauthorized signs or flags and create disturbances intended to undermine the rally’s message.

Those allegations were not independently verified, but the organizers requested additional police precautions to prevent disruptions.

The gathering took place amid an intense final stretch of campaigning ahead of Tuesday’s election, with Netanyahu and the opposition parties sharply divided over the government’s handling of the war, the events of October 7, and the question of political accountability.

Several families of October 7 victims have announced plans to stand near polling stations on Election Day holding photographs of their murdered relatives, hoping to keep the memory of the massacre at the forefront of voters’ minds.

{Matzav.com}