The state ceremony marking Israel's Memorial Day (Yom HaZikaron) began just after 11:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, immediately following the two-minute siren in honor of Israel's fallen soldiers. President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana arrived at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem for the ceremony, as a special flyover of fighter jets passed overhead. "I understand your pain and anguish," Netanyahu said during his address. "I [also] understand the pride that goes into it." Netanyahu said all the citizens of Israel - Jews, Druze, Muslims, Christians, and Caucasians - are "brothers in arms, brothers in service, and brothers in blood," referring to different nationalities that have given their lives for the State of Israel. Thousands of Israelis gathered at cemeteries across the country to commemorate the country's 24,213 fallen soldiers, as well as the 4,255 civilians murdered in terrorist attacks. Alongside the central event in Jerusalem, 52 other government ceremonies are being held at military cemeteries and memorial centers throughout Israel.
