‘How does a father eulogize his son?’: 5 soldiers killed in Gaza blast laid to rest

Five of the seven soldiers killed in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday were laid to rest across Israel on Wednesday, after their armored vehicle was hit by an explosive device, in the deadliest incident to befall the Israel Defense Forces in months.

The soldiers laid to rest over the course of the day were Sgt. Shahar Manoav, 21; Staff Sgt. Ronel Ben-Moshe, 20; Sgt. Ronen Shapiro, 19; Sgt. Maayan Baruch Pearlstein, 20; and Staff Sgt. Niv Radia, 20.

The five were killed in Khan Younis on Tuesday alongside Lt. Matan Shai Yashinovski, 21, who will be laid to rest Thursday morning, and Staff Sgt. Alon Davidov, 21, who is also slated to be buried Thursday after his father arrives from Russia.

They all served with the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion.

Manoav was buried in the Ashkelon Military Cemetery, where he was eulogized by his father Minan as someone who “radiated happiness and light” to all who knew him. He left behind his parents and three siblings — two brothers and a sister.

“My dear son, my hero. How can one say goodbye to you? How does a father eulogize his son — how is that even done?” said his father. “My Shahar, we will never forget your smile, your kindness. You were an inspiration to us, you were everything to us.”

Manoav’s older brother, Shlomo, expressed regret at not being there for his younger sibling as he matured.

“My little brother, first of all, I’m sorry. Sorry that I haven’t been by your side these past years, sorry I wasn’t there with you when you were with your last girlfriend, sorry I missed all of your growing up,” he said. “Thank you for accepting me as your older brother, despite all this.”

The funeral of Ronel Ben-Moshe was held in the afternoon in Rehovot’s military cemetery. He is survived by his parents, Revital and Moshe, as well as five siblings.

Noa, Ben-Moshe’s sister, paid tribute to him at the funeral, who told her late brother that she had “no words to express how much I love you.”

“You always wore a smile and knew how to make everyone happy. You were always there for me, I can’t imagine our family without you — I would do anything to see your smile again,” she said.

Niv Radia was laid to rest in Elyakhin, his hometown, next to the grave of his cousin, Staff Sgt. Omri Peretz, who was slain while fending off Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Kissufim during the October 7, 2023, massacre.

Around a thousand people attended the ceremony, with hundreds holding Israeli flags lining the road leading to the graveyard.

“Niv loved the whole family deeply, including his cousins. It was very hard for him when he lost his cousin Omri Peretz on October 7 — they were extremely close. He wrote a four-page eulogy for him at the funeral,” recalled Radia’s mother, Alexandra, in an interview with Channel 12. He is survived by his parents, Eyal and Alexandra, and two siblings.

“The last time we were here together, you were eulogizing our cousin,” his sister Alin said at his funeral. “I don’t want a family of heroes. I want a family where everyone is alive.”

Radia’s aunt, the mother of his slain cousin Omri, also spoke at the ceremony.

“I still can’t fathom this tragedy that has struck us again. Now you’re together once more — inseparable. I see you both up there, tossing a ball, doing pull-ups, eating pasta and building your treehouse together,” she said.

Ronen Shapiro was laid to rest Wednesday evening in Mazkeret Batya, a town in central Israel just south of Rehovot. He is survived by his parents, Ilya and Marina, and three siblings — Grigori, Maria and Avital.

“You were the person with the biggest heart I knew, the widest smile I ever saw,” his brother, Grigori, said at the funeral. “You always aspired to be a fighter… my brother is a hero.”

Maayan Baruch Pearlstein, from the northern village of Eshhar, was buried in the Misgav Cemetery, the regional council where his family’s hometown is located.

His mother, Osnat, told Kan’s Reshet Bet radio station that her fallen son would have turned 21 on Monday, and that she hoped he would get the weekend off so he could celebrate with the family.

“We still haven’t come to terms with it. I never thought this would happen to us. We trusted him and the system. It’s hard for me to hear that they weren’t protected enough. I just hope he and the others didn’t suffer,” she said.

The 21-year-old Matan Shai Yashinovski, who grew up in Kfar Yona, was a platoon commander in the battalion, and is survived by his parents and two younger sisters.

The Kfar Yona municipality called Yashinovski “a beloved son, a loyal friend, and a brave fighter.”

“We will never forget Matan — his smile, his values, and his deep love for the country,” the municipality’s statement continued.

Alon Davidov, who served as a combat medic in the battalion, was an only son and from Kiryat Yam. His mother, Yekterina, said that she tried to dissuade her son from enlisting in a combat role.

“I didn’t want this,” she told the Haaretz newspaper. “We had many discussions, but he wanted to be with his friends and to be significant, despite the fear. I told him: ‘I’m with you until the end.'”