The event, organised by families of victims and broadcast live on all Israeli TV channels, took place as talks to end the war in Gaza that broke out two years ago on that day were ongoing in Egypt.
Politicians and government officials were not invited as such to the event, which was meant as a moment of collective remembrance for Israelis of all backgrounds.
After a minute of silence, a succession of singers performed on stage between speeches from relatives of the victims of the attack, and commemorations of civilians, soldiers, and hostages killed in captivity.
Comedian Tzahi Halevi from hit Israeli TV show Fauda, and Ashira Greenberg, the widow of an army officer killed during the war in Gaza, paid respects to rescuers and first responders who saved lives that day.
“I rise from the ashes and I come home,” sang Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the massacre at the Nova music festival who represented Israel at the last Eurovision contest.
During the attacks rebels took 251 hostages into Gaza, of whom 47 remain captive, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.
Rabbi Elhanan Danino, whose son Ori was kidnapped from the Nova festival and later killed in captivity, was also among the speakers, leading the crowd into the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead.
Omer Shem Tov, who was held hostage by Hamas and released during a six-week truce earlier this year, also took to the stage.
‘I will not give up’
Shem Tov spoke of his 505 days in captivity, before thanking the man who saved his life at the Nova festival, Ori Danino, and all those who “keep hope”.
“I stand before you tonight and say thank you to the heroes who did not come back, thank you to the fighters who continue to protect us, thank you to those who choose light in the darkness,” Shem Tov told the crowd, before thousands of people shouted “now”, calling for the release of the hostages.
The ongoing war was evoked, but all the speakers focused on the hostages still held in Gaza.
They included Anat Angrest and Viki Cohen, whose sons, both soldiers, were captured on Oct 7.
Photos of their sons from infancy until their enlistment in the army were shown on screen as they spoke, broadcast live on large screens in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where thousands had gathered to watch the ceremony too.
“For two years, there has been no light, and you are in the darkness of the tunnels,” said Viki Cohen, referring to a maze of underground tunnels in Gaza.
“I will not give up, and the whole people are fighting for you.”
Accompanied by singer Yardena Arazi, Cohen and Angrest performed her hit “Come, Mom”, a song in Hebrew often sung at gatherings in support of the hostages.
Before the crowd sang Hatikva, the national anthem, two of Israel’s best-known singers performed a popular song together.
“We don’t want revenge, but healing,” said French-Israeli Galit Dan, whose mother and daughter were killed at Kibbutz Nir Oz, the scene of one of the worst massacres of that day.