In advance of Memorial Day, which will take place next Monday, the National Insurance Institute (NII) announced Thursday that 2,495 Israelis had been killed in terror attacks since the establishment of the State.
Two people were killed in attacks last year. Since 2000, 996 people have been killed in terror attacks.
In addition to the victims themselves, terror attacks have turned 2,853 Israelis into orphans, with 99 of them losing both parents in the attack. There were also 978 widows, and currently there are 800 parents alive who have a least one child killed in a terror attack.
NII head Yehoshua Mor-Yosef said that the NII sees assisting terror victims injured in attacks, and their families, as among its most important jobs. The NII also assists the families of those killed in attacks, and works to preserve their memories. In 2013, the NII paid out NIS 453 million in benefits to victims and their families, he said.
On Sunday, for the fifth year, the State will conduct a special memorial ceremony dedicated to the victims of terror. The ceremony will be held in the Knesset, at 8 PM Sunday night. Some 800 people – family members, representatives of organizations that help families of victims, and others – will participate in the event. An official State ceremony will be held Monday at 1 PM. The event will be attended by the Prime Minister, the President, the Speaker of the Knesset, the IDF Chief of Staff, the Director of the National Insurance Institute, and the President of the High Court.