IDF Soldiers Honor Holocaust Remembrance Day on Frontlines

At 10 a.m. on Thursday, sirens rang out across Israel and even on distant battlefields, IDF soldiers stood still. In Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, and Judea and Samaria, Israeli troops paused their missions to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day, honoring the memory of the six million Jews murdered in the Shoah.

Photographs released by the IDF showed soldiers in combat gear, rifles slung across their shoulders, standing in solemn silence amid the ruins and uncertainty of war. In many units, commanders shared the stories of Holocaust survivors, held moments of reflection, and emphasized the historic continuity of Jewish survival and defense.

“Even in the midst of ongoing missions, we remain mindful of our past and those we have lost,” the IDF said in a statement. “Their memory strengthens our resolve to protect the Jewish people and the State of Israel."

Earlier this week, Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir and members of the IDF General Staff visited Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, laying wreaths and meeting with Holocaust survivors as part of the annual state remembrance.

The connection between past and present was unmissable. Today’s soldiers many of them descendants of Holocaust survivors continue to defend the very state that rose from the ashes of Europe. Their remembrance, held not in museums but on active frontlines, underscores the core mission of the IDF: “Never Again” is not just a statement it is a duty.

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