Israel observes Yom HaZikaron, the annual Remembrance Day, from the evening of Monday, 4/27, through Tuesday, 4/28, during which time it mourns its fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism. This year, the observance is held, for the first time, without visitors at military cemeteries across the country due to restrictions in place during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Defense Ministry’s Families and Commemoration Department said that in the past year, 42 people have been recognized as fallen soldiers. In addition, 33 wounded Israel Defense Forces’ veterans have died as a result of their injuries.
A siren blared out across Israel at 8 p.m. on Monday evening, and a second siren will sound at 11 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
Across 52 military cemeteries located around the country and at the memorial site for fallen Bedouin soldiers in the lower Galilee, the IDF deployed honor guards who stood next to a memorial torch. A senior officer saluted the fallen.
A prayer for the fallen was delivered by IDF Chief Rabbi Eyal Moshe Karim and other senior defense-establishment representatives.
The Defense Ministry’s Families and Commemoration Department placed a flag at half-mast, with a “Remember” ribbon tied around it at the grave of every fallen soldier, as well as flowers and a memorial candle. Read more…