Israel

Overall, 24,213 soldiers have lost their lives in service to the nation since 1860.

Memorial Day for Israel's Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism will be marked with a series of state services nationwide until Tuesday night, at which point Independence Day celebrations are to begin.

“This is not about so-called judicial reform, it’s about democracy,” Sheila Katz, head of the National Council of Jewish Women, said from the rally in central Tel Aviv – a sea of blue-and-white national flags.

"We would support every initiative that would honor the fallen's memory and the bereaved families during that day," Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says after Netanyahu calls for "preserving the sanctity" of annual remembrance events.

"If national unity were so important to you, you would not have dismantled our democracy, and you would have gone to work on behalf of the citizens of Israel," Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says.

Legislation being drafted aims to lower the age at which Haredi Jewish men need to receive deferments from serving in the military, and significantly increase the pay of combat soldiers.

The new figures also include 521 immigrants from Ukraine who fled after the Russian invasion.

Reza Pahlavi is set to participate in the Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony on Monday night and deliver "a message of friendship from the Iranian people.”

The Inter-Church Center says it has documented at least seven serious cases of vandalism of church properties from January to mid-March – a sharp increase from six anti-Christian cases recorded in all of 2022.