Israel is celebrating Memorial Day, a sombre annual observance that has taken on added significance this year in the wake of the October 7 attack and the war it sparked.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday is expected to attend a ceremony commemorating Israel’s war dead on December 11. Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, where the national military cemetery is located, and will later appear at a memorial service for Israeli victims of terrorism, according to a government press release.
The official day of national mourning begins at sundown on Sunday. At around 8 p.m., one-minute sirens sounded across the country, causing pedestrians to stand still in the streets and traffic to a standstill.
Memorial services will be held through Monday afternoon at local schools, hospitals and communities. Traditionally, bereaved families spend the day visiting their loved ones’ graves.
Even in a normal year, the Day of Remembrance for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorist attacks remains sacrosanct in Israel, a small country where many people know someone who died or was injured. trauma caused by the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But this year’s commemorations are taking place as the country struggles to recover from the trauma of the Hamas-led attack on October 7, the bloodiest day in Israel’s history, and faces the threat increasingly increasing. International isolation occurred by the war it launched in response.
According to Israeli authorities, about 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage on October 7. According to the Israeli army, 272 soldiers have been killed and 1,660 injured since Israel launched a ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
During a ceremony at the Western Wall square in Jerusalem, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, the army’s chief of staff, said he was responsible for the army’s failures that day. He also thanked the families of the soldiers who have sacrificed their lives during the seven months of fighting since then.
“I humbly stand before your courage to endure the pain, to regain strength every day despite heavy loss, and to fill the void with meaning,” he said.
According to local health authorities, the international community’s attention is currently focused on the behavior of the Israeli military in Gaza, where more than 34,000 people have died. But the gaze of many Israelis remains largely inward, with the victims of the attack and those taken hostage at the center of the national dialogue.
Eyal Brandeis, who is from Kibbutz Sufa near the Gaza border, said he planned on Monday to visit the graves of two friends killed in the October 7 attack. His community was evacuated to Ramat Gan, a Tel Aviv suburb after the attack and has still not returned home seven months later.
“This year, things have come a lot closer for everyone. We have lost close friends,” said Mr. Brandeis, 60 years old. “Remembrance Day is always special in Israel, but this year will be even more intense.”
For Israelis whose relatives remain in Gaza, the day is especially painful. According to Israeli authorities, Hamas and other armed groups are still holding more than 130 living and dead hostages, and negotiations to secure their release have stalled.
Bar Goren’s father, Avner, 56, was killed in the Hamas-led attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz. His mother, Maya, is presumed dead, her body still among those detained in Gaza.
“We don’t have our mother’s grave to visit and grieve. And for me, I couldn’t bear the emotion of going to my father’s grave in Nir Oz as long as there was an empty plot of land next to him, where she should have been,” said Mr. Goren, 23 years old.
On Monday evening, Memorial Day celebrations will end and Israel will move on to celebrate the country’s 76th Independence Day.
But Renana Gome, who is also from Nir Oz, said she will not attend the festival this year. Her two children, Yagil and Or, were taken hostage on October 7 and held in Gaza for weeks. According to Israeli authorities, they were released in a week-long ceasefire at the end of November, but the body of Ms. Gome’s ex-husband, Yair, is still being held by Palestinian rebels in the area. .
“We cannot celebrate our independence as long as there are more than 132 living and dead hostages in captivity,” Ms. Gome said. “Let the flag fly at half mast.”
Johnatan Reiss Report contributions.
