23,471 Fallen to Be Remembered on Memorial Day

YERUSHALAYIM
Israeli soldiers at a Memorial Day ceremony at Mount Herzl military cemetery on Israeli Memorial Day, in 2018. (Marc Israel Sellem/POOL)

Israel on Tuesday night will commemorate Memorial Day, remembering the 23,471 IDF soldiers, Hy”d, who fell in battle defending the Jewish communities of Eretz Yisrael before 1948, and the state subsequently. The number of fallen grew by 96 in the past year, as 56 soldiers died in battle or other circumstances, while an additional 40 soldiers injured previously in the course of their duty passed away.

According to the National Insurance Institute, 3,149 people have been killed in terror attacks since the establishment of the state. That number includes 120 foreign citizens and 100 Israelis killed in terror attacks targeting Israelis abroad. Nine Israelis were killed in terror attacks in the past year. The terror attacks left 3,196 Israeli children orphaned, with 119 losing both parents, along with 819 widows and 897 parents whose children were killed in attacks.

The Defense Ministry expects 1.5 million people to attend memorial services Wednesday at the nation’s 52 military cemeteries. Ceremonies for Memorial Day will commence Tuesday night with the sounding of a siren for one minute, to be repeated Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. A state ceremony in memory of the fallen will take place Tuesday night, led by President Reuven Rivlin and IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi.

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