The Israeli army established a steering committee to examine issues related to the commemoration of fallen IDF soldiers and their legacy preservation, the IDF announced on Sunday.
The committee will oversee the regulation of commemorative practices and the expression of legacy in IDF units and camps, to provide an in-depth review of honor attribution, the IDF said.
Led by Brig. Gen. (res.) Ofir Levios, the committee has professionals, commanders, representatives of the Defense Ministry, and representatives from recognized organizations of bereaved families as members.
Having started to function in December, 2025, the committee is expected to “submit its conclusions and recommendations in the coming months to the Head of the Manpower Directorate, the Deputy Director General, and the Head of the Families, Commemoration and Heritage Division at the Ministry of Defense. These will then be brought for approval to the Director General of the Ministry of Defense, the IDF Chief of Staff, and the Minister of Defense,” the IDF said.
The IDF and the Defense Ministry established the ideal of a direct partnership with bereaved families in the planning and development of honor actions and events. This cooperation will be reflected in families being invited to open days and in “to share content and ideas, as they wish,” the IDF said.
The Israeli army, aligned with the State of Israel, has conducted previous efforts to increase the recognition of fallen soldiers in order to preserve their memory.
IDF part in preserving fallen soldiers' memory
Among the efforts, since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, the IDF shares an annual death toll report. At the end of December 2025, the Israeli army revealed that 2025 represented the lowest death rates since 2023. Among the information included in the report is how each soldier lost his life.
At the end of 2025, the IDF and the Defense Ministry declared a will to recognize civilian suicides as similar to fallen soldiers if the individual killed themselves within two years of their service during the Israel-Hamas War, and if certain criteria apply.
The initiative represented progress, since the IDF and the ministry have previously provided psychological and financial support to the families of soldiers who committed suicide during their service, but did not assist the families of soldiers who killed themselves after being discharged.
Although progress was made, the fallen soldier status recognition politics raised discussions in the case of the lone soldier Joshua Boone, who, after serving more than 700 days in combat, didn’t receive an official military funeral because he died two weeks after his reserve service officially ended.
Though the circumstances surrounding Boone’s death have not been published, his family said he suffered from severe PTSD caused by his prolonged and intensive combat service. Boone was found dead near his home in Beersheba.
Tobias Holcman, Yonah Jeremy Bob, Keshet Neev and Rebecca Szlachter contributed to this report.