Israel to Observe Memorial Day Amid Gaza War, Hostage Crisis
i24 News – On Sunday and Monday, Israel is to observe Yom Hazikaron, the nation’s official Memorial Day for her...
The post Israel to Observe Memorial Day Amid Gaza War, Hostage Crisis first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
Mourners visit the graves of fallen IDF soldiers at Israel’s Yom HaZikaron ceremony. Photo: Israel Defense Forces
i24 News – On Sunday and Monday, Israel is to observe Yom Hazikaron, the nation’s official Memorial Day for her fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism. The commemoration comes amid Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas.
According to the Defense Ministry, 766 Israeli soldiers were killed while serving in the military during the past year. Another 61 veterans died due to complications from wounds sustained during their service in previous years.
A minute of silence will be held across the country at 8:00 p.m. (local time). A minute-long siren will sound and after that the state memorial ceremony will open in the Western Wall Plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem, with the President Isaac Herzog and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi planned to attend the event.
On Monday, at 11:00 a.m. a two-minute siren will sound, followed by the state ceremony for the martyrs of Israel’s systems at the State Memorial Hall for the fallen of Israel’s systems on Mount Herzl, in the presence of President Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials.
Immediately after the siren, at 11:02 a.m., a special flight of fighter jets with a missing structure will pass over the military cemetery and the state memorial hall on Mount Herzl and over Pilot’s Mountain. At 1:00 p.m. the state memorial ceremony for the victims of hostilities in Israel and abroad will be held at the state memorial on Mount Herzl.
The Memorial Day events will end at 20:00 when with the torchlight ceremony that will mark the 76th Independence Day of the State of Israel. Following the events of October 7, the ceremony will be conducted in a different manner – with no audience present, filmed in advance – and honor the Hamas hostages.
Earlier on Saturday, hostages’ families rallied to demand a deal, emphasizing 38 captives have been already declared dead. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the demonstration is meant to mourn the memory of the hostages who have been killed and whose bodies are being held by Hamas in Gaza.
The post Israel to Observe Memorial Day Amid Gaza War, Hostage Crisis first appeared on Algemeiner.com.