Israel Holds Remembrance Day Ceremonies at Mount Herzl

ceremony began at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on April 21, 2026, honoring fallen soldiers and victims of terror attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog attended the event. Mount Herzl serves as Israel's central military cemetery.

In his speech, Netanyahu recalled his brother Yoni Netanyahu, who died 50 years ago. He stated, "On this sacred mountain, Mount Herzl, lie generations of heroes and heroines. The wound is deeper than time. " Netanyahu described informing his parents of Yoni's death as the hardest moment of his life and noted that he thinks of his brother daily.

Netanyahu added that alongside the pain, there is recognition of heroism. He said families remember not only how their loved ones died but how they lived and what they fought for.

addressed threats from Iran, stating that the regime planned to destroy Israel with nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles. He mentioned sites like Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan, saying actions prevented them from becoming like Holocaust extermination camps such as Auschwitz, Majdanek, and Treblinka.

He noted that throughout history, the people have faced annihilation but revealed inner strength. Netanyahu referenced the October 7 events, stating that from that point, the country surged forward to strike against enemies.

A separate Remembrance Day ceremony for the Israel Police occurred at Mount Herzl. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir addressed bereaved families and officials. Ben-Gvir described the October 7 Hamas attacks as a test that presented both pain and an opportunity to reestablish deterrence, change concepts, and strengthen the standing of the IDF, police, and prison service.

He stated that some opportunities were embraced.

“I am proud of our police, who on October 7, officers, fighters, men and women, left their homes, sometimes with only a handgun against Hamas’s heavy weaponry, and succeeded in saving the situation.”

Ben-Gvir expressed pride in the prison service for changing its approach, ending what he called "summer camps" and establishing order, governance, determination, and sovereignty. He noted reforms in police, prisons, and gun eligibility expansion. He also praised the military, Mossad, and Shin Bet for eliminating Yahya Sinwar and Hassan Nasrallah, along with tens of thousands of terrorists.

Ben-Gvir stated the duty is to be worthy of the fallen, to build and continue their legacy, and to achieve total victory over enemies. He concluded by laying a wreath in memory of the fallen.