At 11:00, a two-minute silence was heard, followed immediately by the State Memorial Service for Israel’s Fallen Soldiers at Mount Herzl. Attending the national ceremony are President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Yitzhak Amit.
At the same time, memorial ceremonies began in military cemeteries throughout the country.
Speaking at the ceremony, Netanyahu said, "From disintegrating Rafah to the high peak of Mount Hermon, our sons and daughters are not willing to accept what the monsters did when they attacked us. They are determined to do justice with the perpetrators of the massacre and the horrors, and even in these very moments, they endanger themselves to create the conditions that will allow the return of all of our hostages and victory over our enemies."
Netanyahu also shared that he and his wife Sara met with some of the bereaved families.
"The children spoke, in choked voices and tears, about how much they miss" their relatives," he said. "Our hearts expanded together with theirs at the infinite pride that they feel. One girl said, 'We merited to have him as our father.' I told them, 'Your father is still alive, in your hearts. Remember that he gave life to you and to our country.'"
"The deceased left us a legacy of spirit, a commandment to live. 'Together we fight, together we protect our country, together we bring our hostages back, and together we bring about a victory over our enemies.' The victorious light of love of our country, of brotherhood among the soldiers, of faith, of sacrifice, and of spirit - that is the victorious light of the fallen and heroic members of the security forces, who gave their souls and their bodies for our existence here. Their memory will remain engraved in our hearts forever."
At 1:00 p.m., the State Memorial Ceremony for victims of terror will be held at Mount Herzl, also attended by all the heads of state. At 16:00, the state memorial service for those who gave their lives to build the State will be held in Akko (Acre).
At 7:45 p.m., the torch-lighting ceremony will begin at Mount Herzl, concluding the Memorial Day events and kicking off the events of Israel's 77th Independence Day.
On the eve of the 2025 Memorial Day, the Defense Ministry published the number of soldiers who fell from the year 1860 to the present day - 25,420 casualties. Since Memorial Day last year, another 319 soldiers fell, along with 61 disabled people who died as a result of their disability and were recognized throughout the year as fallen soldiers of Israel's security forces.
The National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi) published the number of civilians killed in hostilities since 1851, when the establishment of the Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel. The number of civilian casualties is 5,229, of which 800 are children and adolescents up to the age of 18. Since Memorial Day last year, 79 people have been killed in the hostilities. Since the beginning of the war, 934 civilians have been killed, 778 of them in the October 7 massacre.