Defense Ministry says no decision made on wording of headstones for fallen soldiers on and since Oct. 7

The Defense Ministry says that, contrary to recent media reports, there have been no changes regarding the inscriptions on the gravestones of soldiers who were killed during the two-year war against Hamas in Gaza and on other fronts.

Currently, the gravestones read that the soldiers “fell in battle,” without using any name for the war.

Last year, the government voted to rename the conflict, “The War of Revival,” a controversial proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that is viewed by critics as an attempt to evade responsibility for failing to prevent the October 7, 2023, massacre that sparked the war.

Despite the formal name — and the IDF previously calling it “Swords of Iron” — many in Israel refer to the conflict as the “October 7 war.” Some bereaved families reacted angrily to the idea of engraving the new name on their loved ones’ headstones.

The Defense Ministry says that “no change has been made and no new decision has been adopted regarding the wording on the headstones of fallen war soldiers.”

“In the government decision dated October 19, 2025, which determined the name of the war, it was stated that any change to the wording on the fallen soldiers’ headstones would be made in full coordination with the bereaved families,” the ministry says.

The ministry says that it “will not make any change to the wording on fallen soldiers’ headstones without coordination with the families and at their request, as has been the practice until now.”

It adds that the manner of implementing the government decision will be brought before the ministry’s Public Council for the Commemoration of the Soldier, “which is composed of representatives of the bereaved families and the representative organizations.”