Sirens wailed across the country as Israelis bowed their heads in silence to mark Memorial Day on Sunday evening, commemorating fallen troops and civilian deaths in terror attacks. Marking the day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped that the change sweeping Arab nations in the region would lead to regimes that sought peace with Israel, but ultimately the Jewish state's only guarantee of security was a strong military.
"We hope that freedom and progress will light the heavens of other nations, we hope they will live with us in peace," said Netanyahu. "But until that day comes, and after, we know that there is only one guarantee for our existence and our future - the Israel Defence Force."
Netanyahu was speaking ahead of Memorial Day at a ceremony for the families of fallen soldiers at Ammunition Hill, the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1967 Six Day war, where Israeli paratroopers fought a close-quarters battle to oust Jordanian soldiers from a warren of trenches guarding the approaches to east Jerusalem. "As a member of a bereaved family I know very well the pain, the sense of loss and the feeling of hopelessness," Netanyahu told the families.
Israel's Memorial Day is held on the eve of the 63rd anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state and remembers fallen security personnel and civilian victims of terror attacks since 1860, when Jews began to re-establish a presence in Jerusalem's Old City.
According to the prime minister's office, some 22,867 Israeli soldiers, police and other security personnel have died in the line of duty since that time, which Israel regards as the start of the Israel-Arab conflict.
An additional 2,443 civilians have also been killed in fighting and attacks since 1860, and will be commemorated alongside the fallen soldiers and security personnel in ceremonies beginning on Sunday evening.
President Shimon Peres and army chief Benny Ganz led the state memorial service at the Western Wall in the Old City.
On Monday, sirens will sound nationwide for a second time at 11:00 am (0800 GMT) to mark the beginning of two minutes of silence and ceremonies at 43 cemeteries and military memorial sites across Israel. Memorial Day is followed by Israeli Independence Day, which is marked according to the Jewish calendar and this year falls on May 10.