JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Israel marked Memorial Day today, commemorating Israelis killed in wars and attacks. This year's annual remembrance comes as Israelis are reckoning with the war in Gaza, now more than 18 months long, the longest war Israel has ever waged. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv. And a note - this story mentions suicide.
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: Memorial Day in Israel began with a piercing siren.
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ESTRIN: Drivers and pedestrians stopped and stood in silence, a unifying moment for Israelis divided about continuing the war in Gaza.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
ESTRIN: This video posted on social media captures a grieving father at the official government memorial service. His son, a soldier, was killed in Gaza. The man screams when the Israeli speaker of Parliament mentions his son's name.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
ESTRIN: "Don't talk about my son," he repeats. "You are not worthy of his blood. You don't deserve to be public servants," he says. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approached the man to console him. At another ceremony, Netanyahu said Israel's young soldiers believe in their mission after the Hamas attack in 2023.
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PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: (Non-English language spoken).
ESTRIN: "Our sons and daughters are not willing to overlook what the monsters did," Netanyahu said. But polls show a little more than half of Israel wants the Gaza war to end and wants a deal with Hamas for the release of the remaining hostages.
SHIRA EFRON: Gaza remains a conundrum.
ESTRIN: Shira Efron is research director of the nonpartisan Israel Policy Forum.
EFRON: Most Israelis - we see it in every poll - understand now that this war that started as a war of necessity has now turned into a war of choice by the government.
ESTRIN: Since breaking a ceasefire and resuming fighting six weeks ago, Israel has been waging a very different war than before, taking over more territory and banning the entry of all food into Gaza, hoping Hamas surrenders. On Memorial Day, Israeli airstrikes killed scores of Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. They say Israeli strikes have killed more than 52,000 people throughout the war. On a day of official ceremonies, many Israelis chose unofficial ways to grieve.
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ESTRIN: At a fountain in Tel Aviv, every inch is covered in photos, stickers, teddy bears, commemorating young Israelis killed during the war. Sheer Laufer (ph) was among dozens there. She was remembering her first love, who died by suicide last year on his way to report for duty. She said he had suffered trauma from his years as a combat flight navigator.
SHEER LAUFER: (Non-English language spoken).
ESTRIN: "There's a tendency to think if you're in the skies, you don't see anything," she says, "unlike foot soldiers." But she says the decisions you make inside a fighter jet weigh just as heavily. We spoke on Zoom to another Israeli, Gilad Golan, who's visiting Peru to reenact a trip he once took with his son, Sagi. He was killed on Day 2 of the war battling Hamas militants who had infiltrated Israel. It was days before he was supposed to marry his boyfriend.
GILAD GOLAN: Every day that I hear about another fallen soldier, I think about the family, how they get the message, how their lives are broken forever.
ESTRIN: Hundreds more Israelis are grieving this year. Israel says it's lost 456 soldiers and civilians since last Memorial Day. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
SUMMERS: If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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