The Israel Defense Forces on Monday night paid tribute to the “heroes who sacrificed their lives in order to defend our country,” as the Jewish state marked Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Hostile Acts (Yom Hazikaron).
“A single knock has changed thousands of families lives’ forever,” the military wrote on X, sharing a dramatic reconstruction of IDF casualty officers visiting the home of a recently bereaved mother.
A single knock has changed thousands of families lives’ forever. Today, we remember the heroes who sacrificed their lives in order to defend our country 🥀🕯️ pic.twitter.com/TRam1moevM
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 20, 2026
Yom Hazikaron began 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.
A total of 174 Israel Defense Forces soldiers have been killed during their military service since last Yom Hazikaron, according to figures released by the Israeli Defense Ministry.
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 25,650, according to the ministry’s statement.
