At ceremony for fallen soldiers, Katz says the goal is ‘a clear victory without compromise’

Speaking at a Memorial Day Ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Defense Minister Israel Katz vows to return the hostages in Gaza and win a “clear victory” over Hamas.

In his speech at the ceremony reading the names of the fallen, Katz highlights Arnon Zmora, a police counter-terror officer killed during an operation to rescue four captives from central Gaza.

“Arnon sacrificed his life to free our hostages, and by virtue of this mission and this sacred commitment — even at these very hours, IDF fighters in the Gaza Strip are working — to bring home all the kidnapped men and women, both the living and the dead,” Katz says. “This is the ultimate obligation of the State of Israel in the name of mutual responsibility and the unity of the people.”

“It is also our duty to defeat those who slaughtered our citizens on that terrible Sabbath, and to ensure that enemies of this kind will no longer be near our border and will not pose a threat to the State of Israel,” Katz says.

“Our goal is a clear victory without compromise,” he says.

He also reiterates Israel’s determination to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

“We won’t allow the threat of destruction to the state of Israel,” he says.