The Israel Defense Forces is set to establish a committee to identify soldiers who would receive top-tier citations for their conduct during the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught and throughout the ensuing war, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said at a Thursday ceremony.
The move could signify that the army considers the war, which began two years ago with Hamas’s shock assault on southern Israel, to be over. Historically, the medals have been awarded to soldiers after the conclusion of wars.
Israel is in the midst of a ceasefire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which saw the terror group release all the living hostages it was holding and the bodies of nine captives. Ceasefires were also reached in Lebanon and Iran, and attacks have stopped from the Houthis in Yemen and Iran-backed militias in Iraq.
“Out of our commitment, we have conducted investigations of the battles and presented them to the communities. We continue to study, examine, and implement the lessons. The IDF will not repeat the mistakes of the past,” Zamir said during a ceremony at the army’s Nahal Oz base, marking the Hebrew anniversary of the onslaught.
“Out of the collapse and loss there also emerged many stories of heroism, which we must cherish, and we will therefore establish a citations committee,” he said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, penned a letter to Zamir asking him to submit recommendations on awarding the Medal of Valor, the highest honor that the IDF can give, for “exceptional acts of heroism, courage, and exemplary conduct by soldiers or military units that were demonstrated” during the war.
The medal has been awarded only 40 times in Israel’s history, most recently in 1975 for actions during the Yom Kippur War.
“In this campaign, it will be awarded to those who acted under the most difficult circumstances for the defense and existence of the State of Israel,” Katz said.
He said that Zamir should submit his recommendations, based on the work of the citations committee, within 90 days.
The IDF has two other top-level citations, the Medal of Distinguished Service, the third-highest honor, and the Medal of Courage, the second-highest. Commendations — known individually as a tzalash in Hebrew — can also be awarded by the chief of staff, generals, division commanders, and brigade commanders.
Marking the Hebrew anniversary of the October 7 onslaught, the IDF top brass held a ceremony and a moment of silence at the Nahal Oz base, which was overrun by terrorists during the Hamas-led attack.
The IDF said the moment of silence marked by the General Staff Forum was held at 6:29 a.m., when Hamas’s onslaught began.
Fifty-three soldiers were killed at the base during the October 7 attack — 31 combat troops and 22 noncombat soldiers, including 16 female surveillance soldiers. Another 10 troops were abducted — seven female surveillance soldiers and three tank soldiers.
Zamir, in a missive to troops, mourned those killed in the attack and fighting in the subsequent war, while hailing the military’s accomplishments over the past two years.
Zamir credited the efforts of Israeli soldiers in helping to secure the release of the last living hostages and some of the remaining deceased captives under the ceasefire deal with Hamas, while vowing “we will not remain silent until we bring back all the fallen for a proper burial.”
The military chief said that on the day of the Hamas-led atrocities, “the Israel Defense Forces failed in its mission to protect the country and its citizens.”
“The correction will come from within, from us. We don’t have the power to change what was, but we do have the power to grow, as individuals and an army, to take responsibility and to learn from the past in order to fortify our security for generations,” Zamir said.
He added: “We are investigating and will continue to investigate that day and the entire war — truthfully, transparently and professionally. We owe this to the hostages, the murdered and the fallen, to the wounded and the entire State of Israel.”
