Photos: Israel commemorates its Memorial Day

On May 5, Israel commemorated Memorial Day in remembrance of its fallen soldiers as well as civilian victims of terrorism. The country came to a nationwide standstill at 11:00 a.m. Israelis "stood silently for two minutes to honor and remember the dead," The Associated Press reports. Traffic stopped, restaurants closed, and TV channels halted their programming.

The Associated Press reports that 23,169 Israelis have been killed since 1860. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at a ceremony today to honor those lost. His brother, an army member, was killed in a rescue mission for passengers of a hijacked plane in 1976 in Uganda. "There is no total healing to the loss. There is an emptiness that is never filled," he said.

Here are a few of the most striking images from Israel's Memorial Day. --Meghan DeMaria

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An Ethiopian Jew looks at the wall of names at the Armored Corps memorial for fallen soldiers.

(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A woman is walking with two small children along a monument dedicated for Israeli soldiers whose burial place is unknown, at the Mount Herzl military cemetery.

(Omer Messinger/ZUMA Wire/Corbis)

Israeli electricity workers stand silently as a siren marks the annual Memorial Day for fallen Israeli soldiers at an electric power station.

(AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)