From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Bereaved family member demands Oct. 7 state inquiry: ‘State failed to function’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
The crowd of 50,000 attending the national October 7 memorial ceremony breaks into loud applause for the first time after Omri Shifroni, one of the founders of the Kumu movement that organized the event, calls for a state commission of inquiry for the first time in the evening.
“To rebuild trust, we also need the truth. We must know what happened. Without investigating the truth, we cannot fix things, and we cannot make sure it never happens again,” he says.
Shifroni’s niece and nephew, Liel and Yanai, and aunt and uncle Ayala and Aviya Hetzroni, were murdered at Kibbutz Be’eri.
“My beloved family, you should not have been murdered. Not one of you. You were alone, defenseless. And I, too, could not help,” he says tearfully.
“That morning, the systems collapsed and the state failed to function. In the long hours in the safe room, the trust we had as an anchor shattered into pieces,” he continues.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resisted forming a state commission of inquiry, the highest investigative body in Israel, despite demands from bereaved families and survivors, and the majority of the country. He also did not attend any of the memorial ceremonies held today, instead only taking part in the official state ceremonies held Monday.
The Times of Israel Community.