Hundreds of family members, friends and brothers in arms came to a memorial rally marking 30 days since their fall in the battles of Black Saturday in the envelope. In the battles, 58 policemen and women fell, 32 of them from the southern district, who sacrificed their lives and managed to stop Hamas terrorists from reaching more victims with their bodies.
At the ceremony itself, there was a class of writing letters in a Torah scroll in memory of the fallen, with the first writer being the commander of the Southern District, Amir Cohen, followed by the families of the fallen.
Ceremony in memory of Southern District policemen who fell in the fighting near the Gaza Strip | Ilya Yegorov
Commissioner Amir Cohen spoke about the heroism of his subordinates: "A month ago, on Simchat Torah, it was police officers and policemen from the Southern District who acted in the first moments against hundreds of terrorists and stopped the spread of the brutal surprise attack with their bodies. They desperately prevented mass slaughter in other cities and towns and saved the lives of many civilians from the same terrible fate that befell the communities near the Gaza Strip, outposts and IDF bases. The district policemen, together with other police forces, took their lives, charged bravely with pistols and light armaments and killed hundreds of terrorists equipped with machine guns, anti-tank missiles, IEDs and grenades."
Cohen continued, addressing the families who lost their dearest: "Dear bereaved families - unfortunately from this battle your loved ones did not return. They fell heroically while serving as a human Iron Dome for the citizens of Israel, they were the last front line in protecting the safety and security of the public. Our brave and heroic people fulfilled their role in the spirit of the values on which they were raised and educated in their parents' home.
58 policemen paid with lives, 32 of them from the Southern District, photo: Ilya Yegorov
"Dear families, the loss and memory will accompany you forever. The Southern District has the power to adopt you and accompany your path not only on memorial days but throughout the year and whenever you need it. You are an integral part of the Southern District family. Your loved ones are our brothers and sisters, heroes and heroines who fell on their guard defending the people and the country."
Despite the great blow to the district, Cohen promised that the police effort in the district would only increase, "Under my command, the district policemen and Border Policemen will continue the war efforts on the home front, which has become a front. They will ensure control and quiet within the country and its borders, and will enable the IDF to complete its mission and win. We will preserve with all our might the most basic right that every citizen of Israel deserves - the right to personal security."
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