[Ynet News] Lilach Shoval - Israelis across the country stood for a minute of silence at 8 p.m. Sunday, when the siren marking the opening of Memorial Day was sounded. Flags throughout Israel were lowered to half-mast. IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said, "We are not an army that seeks war, but a defensive army. But if a war is forced on us, we shall not back down. We will do whatever it takes so that the people of Israel can sit peacefully in their homes." The number of Israeli soldiers killed in service since 1860, the year when Jews first left Jerusalem's walls to establish neighborhoods outside, is 22,305. Of the 233 soldiers killed over the past year, 119 were killed in the Second Lebanon War. 66 civilians were killed in hostile actions since last Independence Day, mostly during the Second Lebanon War. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
2007-04-23 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive