State Memorial Service for the Fallen of the Second Lebanon War

Twenty years ago, IDF warriors went into Lebanon. They fought on the same ridges, in the same villages, against the same enemy. The connection between families who have carried the pain for two decades and the younger generation, now closely familiar with the cost of defending home, is the central theme of this memorial ceremony.

Over the past twenty years, the names engraved on the stones of the National Memorial Hall have become not only a testament to the past but also a compass for the present. Those warriors who fell in combat have become the family of all of us, interwoven into the fabric of this land, like the trees they planted, like the trees that now bloom again. The ceremony takes place as IDF soldiers and security forces continue to fight across all fronts, and our hearts are with the bereaved families every day, every hour.

The state memorial service for the fallen of the Second Lebanon War, commemorating 20 years since the fall of the warriors, was held in the presence of President of the State Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Defense Israel Katz, IDF Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir, Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Michel Buskila, Supreme Court Justice Danna Barak-Erez, Deputy Director-General and Head of the Department of Families, Commemoration and Heritage Aryeh Moalem, Chairwoman of the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization Zehava Gross Meidan, Deputy Chairman of the Yad Labanim organization Nahum Kadmiel, and representatives of other organizations and state bodies.

The Second Lebanon War (June-August 2006) ended twenty years ago, but its impact on families in Israel continues to this day. During the war, hundreds of warriors fell, and Katyusha rockets struck communities in northern Israel. The ceremony commemorated all the fallen who defended the security of the State of Israel and expressed deep gratitude for the bravery of the fallen and their families.