The test of whether the IDF is worthy of its role as the defenders of Israel is whether it succeeds in returning the hostages held by Hamas, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said at a ceremony at Mount Herzl honoring Israel’s fallen security forces on Monday as part of Remembrance Day and week in Israel.
“We are fighting in order to build a more secure future, and a free state. It is our ethical obligation to return our hostages [held by Hamas] to their homes – this is the test of being the Israeli Defense Forces,” said Zamir.
Zamir was joined by the chiefs of the Mossad, the Shin Bet, IDF intelligence, the police, and top other officials in all of those agencies.
It was notable that while Zamir also mentioned in the speech achieving “victory,” a reference to defeating Hamas, he highlighted returning the hostages as his primary message.
It was unclear if Zamir was maneuvering against elements of the government who seem more ready to sacrifice the hostages in order to continue the war for a more indefinite period to have a better chance of removing Hamas from Gaza, or if it was just thematically more connected to the Mount Herzl context and ceremony.
A religious Jewish Israeli is seen by posters of the hostages held in Gaza. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Zamir also stated, “It is our obligation in the IDF to serve as a [national] conscience, to highlight the way forward and to act at all times, without hesitation…out of a sense of steady honesty, for the sake of unity, cohesiveness, and victory.”
In the midst of the fight of his life with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over when he will leave office, Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar attended the ceremony in person and also addressed the audience at the ceremony in a recorded statement.
Bar could be seen staring at the wall of classified names of fallen agents who have been killed in battle over the years.
According to Bar, the deaths of these Shin Bet agents had an impact on him and the agency both on a very personal level at a relatively small defense unit where most members know each other on a very close level as well as on a professional level.
On a professional level, Bar said that the memory of each of the fallen agents motivated the Shin Bet to be at their best “every day and every hour” in their fight to combat terrorism.
There was no sense from Bar about the tense day after day conflict he is in with Netanyahu about when he will resign due to a mix of his role in failing to warn about Hamas’s October 7, 2023 invasion as well as his falling out personally with the prime minister over issues related to Netanyahu’s fights with the legal establishment.
Mossad Director David Barnea also attended the ceremony and addressed the audience in a recorded message, saying as “we defend the security of our homeland” we salute “our heroes, you who lost your lives for the homeland…We have pride in your and our strategic achievements…you will always be part of the family of the Mossad.”
He added, “we remember you with our [ongoing] activities and achievements…we will continue to act with cunning and with a readiness to sacrifice.”
