IDF honors wounded soldiers and active military with visits, special provisions ahead of Passover

Ahead of the upcoming Passover holiday, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers who have been wounded in combat and those who are stationed throughout Israel and the surrounding regions are receiving special provisional services and visits from military officials, according to a statement from the IDF.

While they recover at the Loewenstein Hospital Rehabilitation Center in Ra’anana, Israel’s largest research and development rehabilitation hospital, wounded soldiers have received visits from IDF Chief of Staff Lt.- Gen. Eyal Zamir, and the hospital's director, Dr. Hagay Amir.

The two toured the facility, speaking with injured soldiers and their families, and offering holiday blessings ahead of Passover.

Zamir, joined by his wife Orna, also spoke about the ongoing efforts to bring the remaining 59 hostages back home. “We have brought many of them back – some fallen, some alive – and we still have the mission of bringing them all home, and that is what we are doing.”

Zamir said the recovery process for the soldiers is “the battle after the battle,” emphasizing the IDF’s commitment to supporting the wounded and honoring the memory of fallen soldiers.

During the visit, Zamir expressed appreciation for the wounded and the medical staff treating them.

“I came to strengthen you, but I’m the one who is moved by what I’ve seen here,” he told the soldiers. “You sacrificed and were willing to give everything, and you were wounded, and I think that is heroism.”

As soldiers stationed in Israel and the surrounding regions continue to protect Israeli citizens during the holiday, they will also receive special holiday packages and services.

The Military Rabbinate has prepared all IDF bases for Passover, from the Syrian border to the Gaza Strip, as well as the southernmost outposts on the coast of Eilat, so the soldiers can celebrate according to kosher laws.

Thousands of holiday packages containing all the symbols of Passover have been distributed to soldiers who will celebrate in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and Judea and Samaria (West Bank).

The Rabbinate has also provided instruction booklets adapted to field conditions and operational time frames, thanks to cooperation with the Association for Israel's Soldiers and Friends of the IDF in the United States.