In a ceremony attended by security and rescue officials, the leaders and volunteers of the ZAKA organization participated, along with the leaders and volunteers of various emergency organizations, including the police, fire and rescue services, fighters, Magen David Adom (MDA), and United Hatzalah. Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana praised the ZAKA volunteers who, with little notice, were dispatched to the massacre sites in the south and have remained there ever since, ensuring that every last drop of blood of the victims was buried with the proper respect.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also attended the event and, in his speech, praised the security forces, the rescue teams, and the ZAKA volunteers. He said, ‘You were the light within the terrible darkness; you are the Maccabees of our time.’

At the ceremony, ZAKA spokesperson Moti Bukchin spoke, commending all the security and rescue forces, with special emphasis on the dedication of the organization’s volunteers who, ‘for two months, we operated together on the ground, day after day, in the area of the party, on the blood-soaked roads, in the cars of the victims, in the kibbutzim, and in the fortified rooms. Side by side, we operated in the mission of the families of the victims and in the mission of the entire nation.’

Bukchin added, ‘We all experienced special protection during our operations. In one of the kibbutz houses, when we entered with the IDF bomb disposal unit (SAPA) into a house where an entire family had been murdered, the fighters found weapons that the murderous terrorists had left on the door handle of the protected room, intending to harm the security forces and ZAKA. There were many other stories of bravery and true self-sacrifice from all of us.’

At the end of his speech, ZAKA spokesperson thanked the Knesset Speaker for the noble initiative of holding the ceremony with the rescue and security forces at the Knesset and thanked the National Security Minister and the Knesset members. He added, ‘I want to thank all the participants—fighters, police officers, MDA and United Hatzalah rescue teams, firefighters, and, last but not least, the dear ZAKA volunteers who returned to the holy work on the ground day after day, doing true kindness with the victims and true kindness with the living—the families of the victims who knew that we were doing everything we could to bring their loved ones to a proper burial in Israel.'”

Photography: Noam Moshkovitz – Knesset Spokesperson’s Office