At memorial for terror victims, Herzog says ‘Israeli covenant’ forged in blood obligates us to bring every hostage home

The “Israeli covenant” forged in the blood of Israeli terror victims demands that the public support Israel’s soldiers and bring every last hostage home from Gaza, says President Isaac Herzog.

“It obligates us to support the soldiers of the IDF and all security forces — whether on national service, career soldiers, and reservists — and to care for those wounded in terror attacks and Israel’s wars,” he says at the State Memorial Ceremony for terror victims.

“This covenant — this Israeli covenant — demands that we act in every way, with all our might, to bring all the hostages home,” he continues. “Every last one of them. The return of the hostages is the most fundamental covenant between a state and its citizens — and indeed, it is also the moral and Jewish covenant that guides our path.”

Herzog returns to his message of unity, and to the urgent need to calm the public discourse.

“This Israeli covenant rests on all our shoulders, in every possible sense,” says the president. “It obligates us to strengthen the bridges between us, to lower the divisions and flames of internal strife, and not to grant our enemies the gift of internal hatred.”

“We must not forget: Our enemies do not distinguish between the blood of soldiers and civilians, between the blood of the elderly and children, women and men,” he says.

נאום נשיא המדינה בטקס האזכרה הממלכתי לחללי פעולות האיבה בארץ ובחו”ל >> pic.twitter.com/k1OThqSd2t

— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) April 30, 2025