Israeli flags and candles have been placed on the graves of fallen soldiers at cemeteries across the Jewish state ahead of Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day), which starts at sundown on Monday.
The operation kicked off on Sunday following the “Salute to the Fallen” ceremony at the Mount Herzl National Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, which was attended by the country’s most senior defense officials.
“For 25 years, this ceremony here at Mount Herzl has symbolized for us the moment in the year when the nation’s heart turns toward the days of remembrance and independence. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Israel Defense Forces soldiers will set out to visit all the graves of our fallen who have died since the establishment of the state,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said in addressing the ceremony.
“They will place the national flag on each headstone, alongside a flower and a memorial candle,” said Zamir.
“This is an undertaking of sensitive historical remembrance that, in my view, is a profound symbol of the State of Israel’s commitment to each and every one of the fallen, to preserving the memory of their legacy and to the obligation to be worthy of them,” continued the chief of staff. “The fallen men and women went out on their missions with their eyes lifted toward the state, swearing to defend its citizens and even to sacrifice their lives for the defense of the homeland.”
“Every year, the people bow their heads and salute them,” he said.
A total of 170 Israeli soldiers have been killed during their military service since last Yom Hazikaron, according to figures released by the Defense Ministry on Thursday.
Another 54 disabled veterans died over the past year due to complications from wounds sustained during their service and were also recognized as fallen service members.
The updated data brings the total number of those who have died in defense of the country since 1860—when Jewish residents began establishing neighborhoods outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls—to 25,644, according to the ministry’s statement.
On Friday, IDF Warrant Officer (res.) Barak Kalfon, from Adi in northern Israel, was killed in action while performing volunteer reserve service in Southern Lebanon. Kalfon, a father of two, would have turned 49 next month.
Yom Hazikaron will begin at 8 p.m. on Monday with a nationwide one-minute siren, followed at 11 a.m. on Tuesday by a two-minute siren ahead of memorial ceremonies at Israel’s 52 military cemeteries.
Zamir, in a letter to IDF soldiers published on Monday, noted that the Jewish state was marking the third Memorial Day “since the terrible disaster of our generation,” in reference to the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre led by Hamas that killed some 1,200 people, primarily civilians.
“From all corners of the country, the defenders of the state look toward us—civilians, IDF soldiers and members of the security forces—who risked their lives in the difficult campaign,” he wrote. “Even at this hour, IDF soldiers stand on guard across all sectors: on land, in the air, and at sea; in the various branches and commands; in the different operations rooms and along the front lines.
“We will continue to carry the legacy of the fallen with us, and they will serve as a sign and a remembrance for us, an enduring testament to the strength of the IDF, the depth of its values, and to the eternity of Israel,” declared the chief of staff. “Now our time has come to carry forward what they entrusted to us.”
