Israel guided by moral commandment ‘to return all our sons and daughters’ - President Herzog

In a memorial ceremony on Sunday for Israel’s fallen soldiers with unknown burial sites, which took place on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Israeli President Isaac Herzog referred to the Judeo-Christian principle of the sanctity of life.

“This commitment, which we consecrate here today, is the moral command ent that will forever guide our path: to return all our sons and daughters, soldiers and civilians – some to their homes, some to a grave in Israel – burns today more than ever, when 134 families are waiting in unimaginable anticipation and suffering for the return of their loved ones, and every Israeli stands with them,” Herzog said.

The Israeli president highlighted the ongoing pain of the Jewish people, as many young sons are giving their lives in the existential war against Hamas in Gaza.

“For many months now, the State of Israel has been at war. A war that we did not choose, but cannot avoid: to return the kidnapped, to restore security. Tremendous pain engulfs our people and our land every time we learn of another death of a citizen or soldier in Gaza. The burial place of so many is unknown,” the president said, as he stressed that the release of Israeli hostages is one of the goals for which soldiers are giving their lives.

“Here I emphasize again: we are determined to win this battle, and it is clear to us beyond any doubt that there is no victory without the return of the captives - the civilians and the soldiers. The living, and those who were murdered by malicious individuals and their burial location is unknown, it is our duty to locate them and return them for burial in Israel.”

Herzog also recalled to fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, whose bodies are still being held captive by Hamas terrorists in Gaza since 2014.

“It is our duty to return all the kidnapped, to fight for their lives, to bring back the remains held in Gaza, including those from Operation Protective Edge, for burial in Israel. To erase all doubts and fight for every shred of information for the families - all of this must remain above dispute. Here, from this sacred mountain, the mountain of longing and tears, we commit to doing everything to pay our moral debt.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also spoke at the memorial, focusing on the pain of the families.

“There is no burden heavier than the burden of bereavement. A burden that does not ease, a longing that knows no end, a pain that never stops, a void that can never be filled. In the past five months, the terrible news has been delivered to hundreds of families who must now also carry the burden of bereavement: Mourning a father who was called up for reserve duty, longing for a son who fell in battle against terrorists, the pain for those who were kidnapped by evildoers, and the bodies still held by them,” he said.

“The security establishment is operating relentlessly to try and obtain every piece of information that will help us find out what has happened to the missing. This commitment – to leave no one behind – is true for the war we are fighting today and for all of Israel’s wars.”