Below is the full text of a message delivered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bereaved families on the occasion of Memorial Day for Israel’s Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Hostile Acts, April 21, 2026.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Remarks to the Bereaved Families on Remembrance Day for the Fallen of Israel’s Warshttps://t.co/RCVH0D3RWj pic.twitter.com/GNHsaNXJIZ
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) April 21, 2026
Citizens of Israel, my brothers and sisters of the family of bereavement and heroism,
Memorial Day does not mean that every other day of the year is a day of forgetting. Indeed, there is no day without tears, no day without a sense of sorrow, no day without a longing that sears the heart.
We remember every fallen soldier and victim whose life was cut short, but on Memorial Day, we encounter them through a broader lens, from a national perspective. This collective memory touches the very foundations of our existence as a nation that is constantly struggling for its security.
On Memorial Day, we remember the heroism, the sacrifice, the love of the homeland, the mobilization for every mission, the unconditional dedication, and the deep bond between us that is stronger than any passing dispute. These are the milestones; these are the building blocks of Israel’s strength, a strength that stunned the entire world during the War of Redemption. Our soldiers and commanders rose like lions, they roared like young lions.
The campaign has not yet ended, but we have already pushed away an existential threat from ourselves. We have returned all of our hostages, struck our enemies hard, and made Israel a nation stronger than ever before.
Dear families, memory is woven from stories, songs, videos, stickers with reassuring quotes from the fallen themselves, and, of course, commemorative books the numbers of which continue to grow.
A new book is dedicated to a hero of Israel, Israel Police Counterterrorism officer Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, of blessed memory, who fell during ‘Operation Arnon’ to rescue four of our hostages. Among other things, the book describes his impressions of the movie Troy, about the Trojan War in ancient Greece. The opening titles of the film were etched into Arnon’s heart.
These are the lines from the film that were etched so deeply in the heart of Arnon the hero:
“Will our actions echo across the centuries? Will strangers hear our names long after we are gone, and wonder who we were, how bravely we fought, how fiercely we loved?”
The answers to these questions are clear regarding the fallen of Israel’s wars as well. We shall remember—and we shall not forget. We shall remember and continue to act in their name and for their sake to ensure the eternity of Israel.
May the memory of the fallen of Israel’s wars and the victims of acts of terrorism be blessed forever.
