Hundreds of Israelis hurried past evergreen trees and cyclamen beds in the Mount Herzl military cemetery near Jerusalem to pay their respects to soldiers killed on Israel’s deadliest day for troops in Gaza’s bombardment, AFP reports.

“I actually don’t know the person who fell personally, but he’s my brother because we’re one nation and we all feel connected,” said Hallel Weinstein, a 22-year-old student who travelled from Tekoa, an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank about 15 kilometres (nine miles) away.

“And when someone in the family gets hurt, we’re all together now.” Like her, many of those who made the trip did not know the soldiers being buried.

“We feel united, we feel that we’re one,” said Ray Itzhaki, a 54-year-old venture capitalist.

“It’s all about showing the world and showing ourselves what is important: unity,” Itzhaki said.

The crowd squeezed under a gazebo tent, where soldiers wearing yarmulkes and berets stood next to Orthodox women wearing turbans.

Packets of tissues were handed out at the entrance, with many in attendance crying and hugging each other.

Eulogies for the dead soldiers followed one after the other at the country’s main military cemetery, where national figures including Theodor Herzl, considered the father of modern Zionism, and former prime minister Golda Meir are buried.