During the state Memorial Day ceremony at the Memorial Hall in the Mount Herzl national cemetery, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the war against Hamas was existential for Israel.
"The war revolves exactly around either us Israel, or them – the Hamas monsters. It's either the existence of freedom, security and prosperity, or extinction, massacre, rape and enslavement," he said.
"I long for you like a flower thirsts for water," Netanyahu said at the opening of his speech, quoting Ashira Grinberg, the widow of Lt. Col. Tomer Grinberg, who fell in Gaza. Netanyahu continued, "Everyone who fought to defend the country, everyone who crossed the border into enemy territory, knows this light, the light of home that instills in us the determination to achieve our goal. This is the light of the 25,000 fallen soldiers of Israel that guides our path."
Memorial Day ceremonies are held in 53 other military cemeteries across the country and memorial sites.
Above the military cemetery and the Memorial Hall on Mount Herzl, combat aircraft performed a special flyover in a missing man formation. Meanwhile, at the Western Wall Plaza in Jerusalem, a memorial ceremony featured the recitation of Psalms and the saying of Kaddish by bereaved families.
"At the beginning of the current war, which began with the terrible massacre, we witnessed countless acts of heroism, stories of courage and mutual solidarity that will be remembered for generations within the IDF units, Israel Police, the Shin Bet, the alert squads, Israel Fire and Rescue Services, Magen David Adom, other rescue and medical services and ordinary citizens—all mobilized with unwavering strength to defend our home. The national home stands, the state stands, and it stands because of them," Netanyahu continued.
"In this time of terrible sorrow, our loved ones who fell in battle and in all Israel's wars represent eternal values: love of people and nation, love of country, readiness to sacrifice, faith in the righteousness of the cause. We are determined to win this fight, we will exact a heavy toll on the enemy for his actions. We will achieve the goal of victory, and at its center, we will bring all our hostages home from Gaza, a victory that, with God's help, will ensure our existence and future. The price we are paying and the price paid by previous generations before us is very heavy."
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, who also spoke during the ceremony, added, "It's a difficult day for every bereaved family, every citizen and every Shin Bet employee. It's also a tough day for me personally. This year, sadly, many more images of slaughtered civilians and fallen operatives, our operatives, IDF soldiers, police officers, rescue teams and cadets, have been added. Together we fought, together we fell, together we will avenge."
"This is a Memorial Day with a very, very heavy sense of burden—within the country, within the Shin Bet, and once again, personally for me. We are delving deep into the Shin Bet's role in the Hamas terror attack on October 7. It's a painful and significant investigation. We will learn from it and rectify what is necessary. It is our duty to the people of Israel and our duty to the fallen. Without the public's trust in the state institutions and in us, we have no right to exist.
"The Shin Bet's part in the war is not over yet. We will not rest until we bring all 128 captives [who were abducted on October 7] home and the four who were there before - both the living and the deceased. All of them. Because that's the real difference between us and them—we sacrifice our lives for the citizens, they sacrifice the lives of the citizens for themselves."