Netanyahu heckled by bereaved parents at ceremony marking 10 years to 2014 Gaza war
Sister of Hadar Goldin says brother’s absence a ‘symbol of abandonment, complete failure’; Gallant: Israel must investigate failures in decade between Protective Edge, October 7
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was heckled by bereaved parents on Tuesday during a state ceremony commemorating the tenth anniversary of the 2014 Gaza war, as they sought to hold him accountable for what they said was his failure to prevent the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught, despite their sons’ sacrifices.
During the ceremony, held at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl military cemetery, bereaved father Shahar Yaori, whose son Amit died fighting in Gaza in 2014, interrupted President Isaac Herzog’s speech with a cry directed at Netanyahu.
“You’re guilty, you’re guilty!” Yaori could be heard shouting in a video of the incident.
“It’s shameful that you’re here — 1,800 dead, 120 hostages, and you’re worried about layoffs, and about your son who insults IDF soldiers,” he said, to applause from some and a request for quiet from others.
“You are guilty,” Yaori repeated. “You are responsible for all the fallen soldiers, and you insult them.”
After the outburst, Herzog paused his speech, left the stage in order to speak quietly with Yaori, and returned once he had calmed down.
טקס זכרון לחללי צוק איתן, אחד המשתתפים צועק על ראש הממשלה "1800 הרוגים בגללך, ויתרת על החטופים, אתה הראש, אתה אשם" במהלך נאום הנשיא. על פי הדיווחים הרצוג ירד מהדוכן, ניגש לאב והרגיע אותו, אחר כך חזר לנאום. pic.twitter.com/ujLWF7JJWw
— Ben Caspit בן כספית (@BenCaspit) July 16, 2024
Following Herzog’s speech, Netanyahu took to the stage.
“There is a saying: ‘New wars erase old wars,'” he said, linking the events of October 7 and the ongoing war in Gaza to the 2014 Gaza war. “I don’t accept that. Even after a decade, even in the midst of a war, we do not forget, and we remember everyone. We salute their heroism and seek to preserve their lofty stories.”
Hadar Goldin’s brother walked out of the room mid-speech, declaring the prime minister a “prattler” as he did. Goldin was killed in battle in 2014, and his body has been held by Hamas in Gaza ever since.
“On the morning of Simchat Torah, in view of the reports of the horrifying massacre on the Gaza border, I declared that we were at war,” Netanyahu said. “It was clear to me that what happened previously would not happen this time. In previous operations, we inflicted very severe blows on Hamas, we eliminated thousands of terrorists, killed commanders and destroyed tunnels.
“But this time, in light of the extreme circumstances, there were the conditions and necessity for a ‘root canal treatment,'” he continued. “This time, the internal and external legitimacy came together to allow us not only to exact a heavy price from our attackers but to go all the way. To destroy Hamas once and for all, to return our hostages and to remove any future threat from Gaza. When I say ‘absolute victory,’ this is what I mean.”
Hamas is under growing pressure, the premier pledged, “because Israel is striking it, eliminating its senior commanders, taking out thousands of terrorists. It is under pressure because we stand firm on our just demands in the face of all pressure.
“We will increase the pressure on Hamas,” Netanyahu said, “and we will bring them all back, the hostages from October 7, and Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed.”
The bodies of Shaul and Goldin were captured in the 2014 war, while Mengistu and al-Sayed, civilians who suffer from mental illness, entered of their own accord at around the same time and are believed to be alive.
Israel, Netanyahu said, has “no intention of losing this conflict.”
“We will continue to repel the attempts to harm us by Iran and its proxies,” he said. “We will continue to strike with uncompromising force at those who rise up to destroy us. We will reckon with all the perpetrators of the terrorist attack until the last one. We will overthrow the evil rule of Hamas. We will thwart any future threat from Gaza to the State of Israel. And we will bring all our hostages home.”
After his speech, Netanyahu was again interrupted by a father who charged that it was his responsibility “to make sure that the soldiers of ‘Operation Protective Edge’ or the soldiers of ‘Swords of Iron’ did not fall in vain.”
Israel must investigate, “at an operational level and at the decision-making level, the conditions that led to the buildup of Hamas’s power in the decade between Protective Edge and Swords of Iron,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, pledging that trust in the IDF would be restored.
Focusing his speech on the urgent need for Israel to reach a deal with Hamas for the release of the hostages, Gallant vowed that doing so would not interfere with the country’s stated goal of destroying Hamas’s military and governing capabilities.
“We are on the brink of a change that will lead to the collapse of Hamas,” he said. “The determined actions of IDF soldiers and the security forces have brought us to this decisive point,” he said.
“Thanks to military pressure…a limited window of opportunity to bring home the hostages has been created. This is a fleeting opportunity. The State of Israel has a moral, ethical and national obligation to bring home the hostages.”
“The IDF and other security agencies have the ability and complete freedom of action to return to strong military operations following any deal, in any place and at any time,” he said.
The defense minister addressed the families of Goldin and Shaul and promised that Israel had not forgotten its duty to return them home for a dignified burial.
At the end of the ceremony, Ayelet Goldin, Hadar’s sister, confronted Netanyahu as he departed the hall, and demanded his attention.
“Look us all in the eye, Prime Minister,” she shouted from her position in the audience. “Stand up and look me in the eye. My Hadar is the symbol of abandonment, the symbol of complete failure…you abandoned the fallen and the wounded.”
“We are one step away from complete failure,” Goldin charged, mocking Netanyahu’s repeated assurances that Israel is “a step away from victory” against Hamas.
Goldin’s parents did not attend the memorial event, choosing instead to hold an alternative event at the entrance to the cemetery.
“Until Hadar is returned, we cannot enter the ceremony,” Simcha Goldin said. “What began with Protective Edge continued on Simchat Torah and continues to this day,” he said.
“Not returning our children is out of the question,” Leah Goldin added. “We are at a historic juncture, between a step from victory and a step from failure. We are returning them all, and now.”
