The State of Israel marked its traditional Memorial Day on Sunday evening with 620 soldiers added to the rolls of those who have fallen in battle since the state’s independence in 1948.
Memorial Day is taken very seriously in Israel, a small society where almost everyone knows, or is related to, someone who fell in battle over the decades.
Sunday evening’s ceremonies were particularly poignant, as the country mourned the soldiers lost during battles on October 7, and those who have fallen since in the fight against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah on the northern border.
Israelis also prayed for the rescue of dozens of hostages, many of whom are soldiers, including female soldiers, who are still being held by Hamas in Gaza in brutal conditions, and whom Hamas has refused to release in recent talks.
Official Memorial Day ceremonies were held at the Western Wall in Jerusalem,…
