2024-05-14 01:11:55
(ANSA) – TEL AVIV, MAY 13 – Two minutes of sirens stopped Israel for ‘Yom HaZikaron’, the day in which the country remembers its fallen: soldiers who died in combat and civilians killed in acts of terrorism. Sirens kicked off public ceremonies across the country. On Mount Herzl in Jerusalem – where there is a shrine to the fallen – the main ceremony began with the passage of war jets overhead. Both head of state Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are participating in the demonstration. According to data released by the authorities, since last year 1,594 soldiers and civilians have been killed in combat or in acts of terrorism, which is the most mournful year in five decades. Most of the deaths this year were due to the war in Gaza and the Hamas attack. National Security Minister – and radical right-wing leader – Itamar Ben Gvir was challenged at the Ashdod cemetery ceremony for the Day of the Fallen (Yom HaZikaron). The media reported that, upon his arrival at the scene, someone shouted at him: “Criminal, what are you doing here?”. In a video released on social media, an elderly lady can be seen railing against the minister, who was instead defended by someone else. “We all feel that the security of which we have always been proud we did not give to the people of Israel on October 7” said the head of the Shin Bet Ronen Bar in a ceremony for ‘Yom HaZikaron’, the day that remembers the fallen of Israel. “We are all aware of the mistake and the feeling that we could have prevented it. And as the person responsible for the Shin Bet’s activities I feel it – he added – perhaps more than anyone else”. (HANDLE).
2024-05-14 01:11:55