Today (Wednesday) at 11:00 AM (IST), a nationwide two-minute siren of remembrance was sounded. Immediately afterward, the central memorial ceremony began at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery, during which an Israeli Air Force flyover passed above the cemetery and the Hall of Remembrance. At 13:00 (IST), heads of state will participate in a ceremony honoring the victims of terror attacks in Israel and abroad.
At 4:00 PM (IST), the official state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Jewish underground movements and those executed by the British Mandate will take place in Acre.
At 7:45 PM (IST), the torch-lighting ceremony at Mount Herzl will begin, concluding Memorial Day commemorations and ushering in the celebrations of Israel’s 77th Independence Day.
Watch live:
Netanyahu: “This is Our Generation, Our Duty, Our Light – To Be Achieved Through Victory and Return of the Hostages”
Speaking at the central memorial ceremony at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared:
“We have broken the chokehold of our enemies—our soldiers are risking their lives for this.”
In a firm and emotional tone, Netanyahu emphasized the responsibility borne by the current generation:
“This is our generation, our duty, our light – and it will shine through victory on the battlefield and the return of the hostages.
Watch the central ceremony at Mount Herzl:
State Memorial Ceremony for Israel’s Fallen Soldiers
At 4:30 PM, a special memorial gathering will be held in honor of Israel’s fallen soldiers, with a focus on the “Swords of Iron” War and the events of October 7. The ceremony will take place at the Yad LaBanim memorial center in Jerusalem, with the participation of the Knesset Speaker, President of the Supreme Court, ministers, deputy ministers, Knesset members, the Mayor of Jerusalem, Israel’s Chief Rabbis, and families of the fallen.
At 7:45 PM, Memorial Day events will conclude with the torch-lighting ceremony on Mount Herzl, marking the transition to Israel’s 77th Independence Day celebrations.
Watch the siren sounded at the Western Wall:
Name Reading Ceremony
The official state ceremony of reading the names of Israel’s fallen soldiers took place earlier this morning (Wednesday) at the State Hall of Remembrance on Mount Herzl.
The ceremony was attended by the President, Prime Minister, and senior judicial officials.
Defense Minister Israel Katz addressed the audience during the ceremony: “On this sacred day, our hearts are with the fallen, with their families, and with those who carry the scars of war in both body and soul,” he began.
Katz addressed the ongoing fighting in Gaza: “The goal is clear victory – without compromise. The key lesson from the events of October 7 is that the IDF must always stand as a buffer between enemies of this kind and our communities and civilians—whether it be the security zone in Lebanon, Mount Hermon and the buffer region in Syria, the refugee camps in northern Samaria, or the security perimeter around Gaza, which separates our enemy from the communities of the western Negev.”
“Even at this very hour, IDF soldiers are operating inside the Gaza Strip—to bring all the hostages home, both the living and the fallen. This is the highest duty of the State of Israel, in the name of mutual responsibility and national unity,” Katz added.
The Defense Minister concluded his remarks with a pledge to improve Israel’s security reality: “We honor, with aching hearts, the memory of all Israel’s fallen soldiers. And we are committed to continuing our mission: to defeat our enemies and to forge a stronger, more secure future for years to come.”
Watch the name-reading ceremony:
Linoy Reter contributed to this article
Updated 11:20 IST
