Israel Honors 25,420 Fallen Soldiers on Memorial Day

The sound of the siren for two minutes at 11:00 a.m. local time marked the beginning of Memorial Day ceremonies in Israel across 52 military cemeteries, commemorating the 25,420 people who died in service to the country since 1860 — the year when Israel, and before it the Jewish community in the region, began counting its fallen soldiers and defenders, CE Report quotes ANSA.

Memorial Day began last night at 8:00 p.m. Today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, and Supreme Court President Isaac Amit are attending the main ceremony on Mount Herzl.

At 1:00 p.m., another ceremony on Mount Herzl will commemorate the 5,229 civilian victims of terrorist attacks since 1851.