05/13/2024May 13, 2024
Israel holds Memorial Day ahead of independence celebration
Israel is marking its , the annual commemoration in honor of fallen soldiers and civilian victims of attacks.
The period of reflection began on Sunday as sirens sounded across Israel at 8 p.m. local time (1700 GMT/UTC) to mark the start of Memorial Day.
The commemoration opened with an official ceremony on Sunday, with smaller events planned at military cemeteries across the country on Monday.
“Tonight, we have no peace, and there is no silence,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said at a ceremony at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, the holiest site for Jews to pray.
In a Memorial Day speech, vowed to continue fighting until victory.
The solemnity ends with the fanfare of Independence Day, starting on Monday evening. The juxtaposition of the two days is intended to highlight the link between Israel’s costly wars and its founding in 1948, as well as its subsequent survival.
The year, Memorial Day comes with memories of the October 7 attacks by in southern Israel still strong.
The attacks killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, with Islamist militants taking another 250 hostage. Hamas, listed as a terrorist organization in the United States and European Union, as well as by other governments, still hold about 100 captives and the remains of more than 30 people who have been reported dead.
On Sunday, Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Health Ministry said the death toll among Palestinians in Gaza from Israel’s bombardment and offensive had risen above 35,000.
Palestinians look upon the creation of Israel as the “Nakba,” or catastrophe, marking a time when hundreds of thousands of people were expelled from their homes.
rc/rm (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)
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