Maj. Eitan Neeman, 45: Reservist combat medic and father of 7

Maj. (res.) Eitan Menachem Neeman, 45, a combat medic in the 551st Brigade, from the West Bank settlement of Tene, was killed in action on October 9 while battling Hamas near Gaza.

Neeman, a senior pediatrician at the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, was a married father of seven.

He was buried on October 11 in Beersheba. He is survived by his wife, Yael, their seven children, Yehonadav, Naama, Avinoam, Evyatar, David, Yehuda and Tzur, as well as his parents, Hadassa and Yisrael, and older sisters Yael, Moriya, Michal, Drorit and Noa.

“Dr. Neeman was saving lives on the first day of combat, in the trauma room in Soroka, and was recruited into the reserves to help rescue and save more lives. May his memory be for a blessing,” Soroka hospital said in a statement.

Neeman was an only son who had five older sisters. He grew up in Jerusalem’s Old City. He served in the Israeli Navy and then studied medicine, specializing in pediatric intensive care.

Eitan, “my dear and beloved cousin… saved the lives of many children, without any discrimination. He was raised on Torah and work values, had deeply strong morals, [was] modest with a great sense of humor. Eitan left behind his wife Yael and their seven children and a big, shocked, and loving family,” a relative wrote on Facebook in tribute.

A photo of Ne’eman praying against the background of the Sderot sign is likely the last one taken of him before his death. It was sent to the family by a member of the paramedic team he was serving with.

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