Separately, Israel Police on Thursday arrested a resident of the West Bank town of Tarqumiyah suspected of being involved in the criminally motivated kidnapping of an IDF soldier.
According to Army Radio, two other soldiers were lightly wounded in the incident but did not need to be evacuated to the hospital for treatment.
"It is fitting and proper that they [soldiers] be first in the order of priorities to receive the nation’s appreciation through its decisions and allocation of resources," said Zamir.
"We will continue to plant, to build, to nurture life, and to choose hope. And so our answer is one and the same: to keep planting, building, nurturing life, and choosing hope,” Herzog said.
The warnings came amid debate in 2026 defense spending discussions, in which the Finance Ministry rejected the Defense Ministry's petitions to increase spending by NIS 40 billion.
Officers from the Israel Police's Counterterrorism Unit (YAMAM) apprehended the suspect, while Shin Bet provided intelligence support to the forces, the statement said.
The girl's screams, clearly audible in the final seconds of a video documenting the drama, are heard by passing drivers, who realize something bad is unfolding and jump into action.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel had “changed the face of the Middle East” after October 7 and that Israel "emerged a more united people and a stronger, more determined state."
For now, there appears to be little appetite to withdraw from the buffer zone, largely because of lingering questions over whether Syria’s new president is truly capable of controlling the country.
“Every single booth has an oleh with a story, and they're selling their products from the small business that they opened here in Israel after their aliyah,” said Devon Conway of Nefesh B'Nefesh.
Organizers said this will be the largest publicly funded memorial event in Israel’s history. Approximately 4,905 donors were responsible for over 38% of the total goal.
