Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz delivered a powerful address at Israel's Memorial Day ceremony on Wednesday, emphasizing that the primary lesson from the October 7 attacks is that the IDF must maintain a constant defensive barrier between Israel's enemies and its communities. Speaking at the National Memorial Hall on Mount Herzl during the traditional reading of fallen soldiers' names, Katz addressed the ongoing war in Gaza, the Iranian threat, and made a solemn commitment to the bereaved families of Israel's fallen.
"On this sacred day, our hearts are with the fallen, with their families, and with those who bear the scars of war in body and soul," Defense Minister Katz began his speech. "During this past year, the most difficult news arrived at the homes of hundreds of parents, wives, children, and siblings – and transformed their lives, in an instant, from one extreme to another. Since October 7, we have all received many painful reminders of the unbearable price of defending our beloved country and ensuring its existence. Each of the fallen is an entire world."
Katz addressed the ongoing war in Gaza and said, "It is our duty to defeat those who massacred our citizens on that terrible Saturday, and to ensure that enemies of this kind will no longer be near our border and will not pose a threat to the State of Israel."
The minister spoke about Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, a counter-terrorism unit soldier who died during the hostage rescue operation in the Nuseirat camp in Gaza. "Arnon sacrificed his life for the release of our hostages, and from this mission and this sacred commitment, IDF soldiers are operating at this very moment in the Gaza Strip – to bring home all the female and male hostages – both living and deceased."
The Defense Minister also addressed the Iranian threat, adding: "We have now seen that when Iran threatened over the years to destroy Israel, they meant it. Iran is the central threat to the entire region, and we are determined – more than ever – to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons. We will not allow threats of destruction against the State of Israel."
At the end of his remarks, Katz addressed the bereaved families, "There are no words that can comfort you. The entire people of Israel embrace you and strengthen you. Your pain is the pain of us all."
"I, Israel Katz, Defense Minister of the State of Israel, commit here, in this holy place, to remember and remind of all our fallen. The walls of this hall echo their names and will echo them forever. This is my oath, this is our oath; to perpetuate their memory and pass on their legacy from generation to generation," the defense minister concluded his speech.
