Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant on Sunday met with new conscripts to the Golani Brigade and the Combat Intelligence Collection Corps at the Tel Hashomer Enlistment Center.
During the visit, the minister was briefed on the enlistment data and spoke with new conscripts and their families about the importance of combat service, especially during the war. He praised the professionals for the rise in the percentage of combat enlistees in this round of enlistment.
In a conversation with the conscripts, Gallant stated: "For two months, we are at war. A bloody war, with heavy prices which we paid and still pay every day. The response of the Israeli public is simply amazing, and you are an expression of this. Everyone is rushing forward, everyone wants to beat Hamas, and they understand why. And they also do it personally; when there is danger, everyone runs at the danger, and they go to stop it."
He mentioned those who paid the price of protecting the country with their lives. "On Saturday morning, October 7th, IDF soldiers, both active duty and reserves, on duty and on leave, moved to the front, took themselves, and ran forward. It did not prevent everything, but it prevented an even greater event. Unfortunately, we paid the price of many soldiers who were killed. But they stopped it with their bodies, so terrorists wouldn't reach Ashkelon, Ashdod, Tel Aviv, and Be'er Sheva. That is the spirit of the IDF.
You are joining a historic path, which your Grandfather and Grandmother already served, and after that, your parents, and after that, you, and this is what grants the country life. While here, people are enlisting, Hamas is surrendering - that's the situation, one after the next. The IDF is working very nicely at this time. You will see this from up close. Today, it seems far away, but within a few months, you'll understand things totally differently," he added.
"I have a lot of appreciation and respect for the enlistment and the bearing of the load. We are enlisting, and in Gaza, they are breaking. The IDF is continuing to win, and you will soon join this glorious system which is called the Israel Defense Forces. This is the most powerful and most optimistic expression that you can not break the Jewish people, we can not be beat. So for those who die, for those who continue to live, for all of our future - go, do your job, your performance, your missions, succeed, and come home safely," the Defense Minister concluded.