‘I carry with me every day the memory of the fallen; I am responsible’: IDF chief of staff on Memorial Day

Speaking at the Memorial Day ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says he is responsible for providing answers to the families of slain troops.

“As the commander of the Israel Defense Forces during the war, I bear responsibility for the fact that the IDF failed in its mission to protect the citizens of the State of Israel on October 7. I feel its weight on my shoulders every day, and in my heart, I fully understand its meaning,” he says.

“I am the commander who sent your sons and daughters to the battle from which they did not return, and to the posts from which they were kidnapped,” Halevi says, in reference to the October 7 onslaught and the ongoing ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

“I carry with me every day the memory of the fallen, and I am responsible for answering the sharp questions that keep you awake,” he says.

“I did not know all the fallen, but I will never forget them. I did not have time to visit their homes, but I will always be committed to you — the parents, daughters and sons, brothers and sisters, spouses, grandfathers and grandmothers,” he continues.

“I stand humbly in the face of your bravery to stand up to the pain, to find the strength in everything in the shadow of the heavy loss, and to bring new meaning into the void that opened up,” Halevi says.

The IDF chief vows, “In this war, we are determined to complete the mission, even though we understand the cost.”

“As long as our enemies rise up against us, we will be on guard, we will be ready and alert, we will respond strongly to any attempt to harm us, and we will strike back at those who seek to kill us,” he adds.