Israel honours ‘heroes who sacrificed their lives’ on Yom HaZikaron

A total of 174 IDF soldiers have been killed during their military service since last Yom HaZikaron, according to figures released by the Israeli Defence Ministry.

Another 54 disabled veterans died over the past year due to complications from wounds sustained during their service and were also recognised as fallen service members.

The updated data brings the total number of those who have died in defence of the country since 1860—when Jewish residents began establishing neighbourhoods outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls—to 25,650, according to the ministry’s statement.

Speaking in Jerusalem to mark the occasion, Prime Minister Netanyahu said the day is one of “heavy sorrow” but also the “anchor of unifying togetherness” and called fallen veterans the “foundation of our independence”.

“The people remember. The people salute. The people are deeply grateful to the sons and daughters, thanks to whom our existence is assured. In the words of the prophet Isaiah: ‘For a people in Zion dwelt in Jerusalem, weep and do not weep,’ ” he said at a ceremony of Yad LaBanim, the official group commemorating Israel’s fallen.

Among those attending the ceremony were the speaker of the Knesset, the president of the Supreme Court, Israel’s chief rabbis, and the mayor of Jerusalem.

Netanyahu said the loss of a loved one always stays with the families of those who have fallen. He recalled how, after 50 years, his family still longs for his elder brother, Yonatan, who died leading the 1976 raid on Entebbe.

In a later video address to the nation, he went on: “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 mobilisation 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.”

At sundown on Tuesday, Israel will transition from solemn remembrance to joyous celebration, kicking off its 78th Independence Day (Yom Ha’atzmaut).

Celebrations will take place against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire in the US-Israel war with Iran, which US President Trump has said is set to expire on Wednesday evening, with expected last-minute talks expected to take place in Islamabad on Tuesday.