Calls for state inquiry as Israel marks 1,000 days since Oct 7

Israelis called on Thursday for a state commission of inquiry into Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, as the country marked 1,000 days since the deadliest event in its history, which triggered the war in Gaza.

A series of sombre commemorations were being held across the country, as well as protests against the government's handling of events during and after the attack.

The first began at 6:29 am (0329 GMT) -- the exact time at which the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas launched its assault on Israel.

"What weighs on me most is the fact that even now, 1,000 days after the event, we are still in the middle of it, and what could have been done to reach some kind of closure has not been done," Jerusalem resident Dina Hertz told AFP.

"I mean a genuine commission of inquiry, genuine taking of responsibility, drawing real conclusions, and a true sense of shame and pain by those who were at the head of the system on October 7."

The Hamas-led attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Militants also took 251 hostages to Gaza.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 people, according to the territory's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

Since a ceasefire took effect on October 10 last year, at least 1,059 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the health ministry, and the Israeli military says it has lost five soldiers and one contractor over the same period.

Israeli forces occupy nearly 70 percent of the territory.

- 'Day of rage' -

Meeting with a group of bereaved families, President Isaac Herzog said the day was "a reminder of Israel's capacity to grow out of crisis and unbearable pain: to remember, and never to forget".

The "October Council", founded by the families of victims and hostages taken on October 7, is one of the main organisers of Thursday's events.

Gatherings are scheduled in front of the Israeli parliament and near the homes of government members.

"The families of the hostages and the bereaved families are demanding the establishment of a state commission of inquiry now!" the October Council said on X.

The "Hostages Square" plaza in Tel Aviv, which became a focal point for the struggle to release the captives during the Gaza war, has been renamed "Memory Square" for the day.

In the square under the beating sun, a girl played a piano plastered with stickers paying tribute to victims and soldiers who fell in battle.

"The thousandth day is the day of weeping, a day of rage, a day of anger and above all, a day of mourning," said Eyal Eshel, whose daughter, a soldier, was killed on October 7.

"For a thousand days, we have continued counting, and we will keep counting until a state commission of inquiry is established and until this government is no longer in power," he added.

A memorial event is also scheduled for 8:00 pm at Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park, bringing together victims' families and leading figures of the protest movement against the Israeli authorities and their handling of events.

Israel's military chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, on Monday said: "This day reminds us of our overall responsibility and the weight that rests on our shoulders".

Gadi Eizenkot, former army chief and now a leading candidate to succeed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the elections due to be held in October, marked the day in a short X post.

"1,000 days. We will still prove ourselves worthy. I promise," he wrote.

According to polls, a large number of Israelis across the political spectrum support the establishment of a body to determine who is responsible for the authorities' failure to prevent the deadliest-ever attack on Israel.

Netanyahu's government, however, has long refused to establish such a commission, the likes of which Israel has commonly set up in the past to investigate major state-level failings.