Speaking to families of victims of the Carmel forest fire at an official memorial ceremony Monday afternoon, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that “you have had a very difficult year, with days and nights of loss and pain over your loved ones who were trapped in the fire. The entire nation saw the flames, and they all felt your pain. With that, it is proper to say that only those who experienced the loss know of your suffering.
“Even during the tragedy, and for days afterwards, we asked how we could overcome this and continue to live normally,” Netanyahu told the families. “I don't know if you will ever be fully comforted, but a partial comfort can be found in the fact of the bravery of the victims and their willingness to volunteer when they were needed,” he added.