IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Ganz placed a flag Wednesday at the grave of Israel's most recently deceased soldier at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

The ceremony at the grave of Corporal Noach Weizman, a Golani Brigade soldier who died April 23 following a diving accident while on vacation in Eilat, is the first "Flag for the Fallen" ceremony preceding Israel's Memorial Day on May 9.

In the coming days flags will be placed on the graves of all fallen IDF soldiers in military cemeteries throughout Israel.

The IDF has had 22,682 combat-related deaths since its founding. Israel's fallen have been survived by 2,167 orphans, 3,285 widows, and 12,515 bereaved parents.

This is the eighth year for the "Flag for the Fallen" project, which aims to honor and cherish the soldiers who sacrificed their lives to defend the security and welfare of the State of Israel.