The official state ceremony marking the start of Israel's Memorial Day began immediately after the siren at Jerusalem's Western Wall Plaza, in the presence of President Shimon Peres, Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, and bereaved families.
"They say the pain dissolves as times moves on, as years pass. And I know it isn't so: Pain just becomes sharper as the days and years go by," Peres said at the start of the ceremony. "You see a soldier in IDF uniform in the street and your eyes well up.
"You hear steps in the stairwell and you think maybe he returned, maybe he's coming home," he continued. "But no, it's not him. You participate in a family gathering and your heart is broken. Everybody dances and laughs and you make an effort to break into a smile so as not to spoil the fun.
"This year, also, we lost the best of our boys and girls, some of the in Operation Cast Lead. This year also we returned to the cemeteries, to bury our dead, mourn their loss and cry with the families," the president said.
"For 61 years we have been burying our children and the end of this is still not on our horizon," Peres said. "Again and again the boys are called to protect their fathers and the mothers; again and again the commanders lead their troops and fall in battle, because the best of our men always go down first."
Although the country has faced its share of threats, Peres predicted even more to come, but insisted at once that Israel wanted peace but was ready for war.
"This year, too, the threat on our existence persists, and yet, we do not run away from the battlefield. We do not want war, but if it is forced upon us, I suggest to our enemies and friends as one, to be on the right side, our side, the side that has always won and will always win," he said.
"The fallen have left behind them a strong and assured country," Peres concluded.
