Thousands of mourners gathered at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl military cemetery Sunday to pay tribute to the fallen hero, Israel Police Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, who died in Saturday’s daring hostage rescue in Gaza.
Zamora led the Yamam counter-terror unit, which succeeded in bringing back four hostages — Noa Argamani, 25; Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40. He was the only casualty in the intense firefight.
Praises and tributes poured in from across the nation and around the globe. Hundreds lined the streets of the capital city, waving Israeli flags and standing silently to honor Zamora’s funeral procession as it made its way to Mt. Herzl.
A farewell to a hero.
This is how Israelis are paying tribute and expressing gratitude to Capt. Arnon Zmora, a commando officer, who fell yesterday while rescuing our 4 Israeli hostages from the heart of the Gaza Strip.
This is the motorcade of his military funeral.
Wave this… pic.twitter.com/OJbmMVyjpo
— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) June 9, 2024
Zamora was buried in a flag-draped coffin with full military honors. The cemetery was filled with people — as it has been for the many burials of the war, with complete strangers often showing up to honor the fallen.
A hero’s burial for Arnon Zamora, who lost his life in battle leading the daring rescue of four Israeli hostages. The Nation of Israel and the Jewish People will never forget you. Deepest condolences to your family and friends. Rest in peace and may your memory be blessed. pic.twitter.com/ukWK7bnkcY
— David M Friedman (@DavidM_Friedman) June 9, 2024
Thank you Arnon. Because of you, 4 families have joy. Because of you, millions of Jews and Israelis are a little safer. Because of you, we continue to be here. Because of you, we have hope.
Funeral of Arnon Zamora z”l HYD pic.twitter.com/US6tuqnIRv
— On This Day in Jewish History (@dailyjewish) June 9, 2024
Hier matin, ARNON ZAMORA a offert sa vie pour libérer 4 otages détenus par les islamistes du Hamas.
Aujourd’hui lors de ses obsèques au Mont Herzl, une impressionnante foule s’est réunie pour rendre un dernier hommage à ce héros.
Chloé et Rebecca, bénévoles de TOUS 7 OCTOBRE… pic.twitter.com/7oX9ag0vYl— TOUS 7 Octobre️ (@tous7octobre) June 9, 2024
Zamora’s wife fought through tears as she honored her husband. She played a recording of a farewell message from the couple’s two small children.
Michal Zmora, wife of Arnon, who was killed during yesterday’s rescue operation, shared this message:
Everywhere is filled with the image of the fallen hero Commander Arnon Zamora. But long before he was a warrior and a hero, he was a sweet and charming man. An amazing partner,… pic.twitter.com/3aaBuyF1XX
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) June 9, 2024
Arnon Zamora is a hero.
Today his children said goodbye to him.
May his memory be a blessing. HY”D. pic.twitter.com/V1e1M1SmYK
— Yehuda Teitelbaum (@chalavyishmael) June 9, 2024
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who lost his brother as the only casualty of the successful hostage rescue operation at Entebbe, Uganda, in 1976, renamed the Gaza rescue operation “Operation Arnon” — just as the Entebbe raid had been renamed “Operation Yonatan.”
A photo surfaced of Arnon Zamora, years before, during his army service, paying his own respects to the falen on Mt. Herzl.
ארנון זמורה ז״ל בהר הרצל, כלוחם אגוז. היום ייטמן בהר.
צילום: יונתן למפרט pic.twitter.com/d4hkDWlxBq
— Yosef Yisrael (@yosefyisrael25) June 9, 2024
And so the chain of heroes continues.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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