Master Sgt. Sergey Shmerkin, 32: Estate agent had ‘a zest for life’
Killed fighting Hamas in northern Gaza on November 10, 2024
Master Sgt. (res.) Sergey Shmerkin, 32, a soldier in the 551st Brigade’s 697th Battalion, from Kiryat Shmona, was killed fighting Hamas in northern Gaza on November 10, 2024.
Sergey was killed in an explosion from a booby-trapped tunnel shaft next to a mosque in the Beit Hanoun area, that also took the lives of his comrades Maj. (res.) Moshe Leiter, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Yossi Hershkovitz and Master Sgt. (res.) Matan Meir.
He was buried in Kiryat Shmona on November 13. He is survived by his parents, Tatiana and Vyacheslav, his older brother Daniel and his girlfriend Maya.
Born in Tajikistan, his family moved to Israel in 2002, when he was 11 years old.
His loved ones said he always wanted to take part in reserves duty after finishing his mandatory service, but was never called up despite his best attempts. On October 7, he called himself up to take part in the war effort, heading south that morning amid the Hamas onslaught. On October 20, he shared a video to Facebook of the IDF’s ongoing ground operation in Gaza, writing: “Proud to be a part of this, the nation of Israel lives!”
Kiryat Shmona Mayor Avichai Stern eulogized the fallen soldier, writing that he was a “warrior at heart and loved Kiryat Shmona and the State of Israel very much. It pains my heart to say goodbye to an ambitious young man full of dreams that he will not get to realize.”
The Bashiri real estate company in Kiryat Shmona where he worked eulogized him as “the salt of the earth, a mythical chef, an incredible contractor, talented estate agent, great comedian and a huge smiler.”
His girlfriend, Maya, told Ynet that Sergey fell in love with northern Israel during his military service.
“In his regular service, he was a commander in the Givati Brigade. He loved the north so much that he knew every detail. We would go hiking, and he would tell me about places more than I knew, and I grew up there. He had such a zest for life,” she said.
“I used to tell him he was my gift; he brought so much light into my life. He was an amazing cook, and I loved his values and principles,” she added. “Even on his worst day, he would always say everything was fine and smile, always saying thank you, always blessed. A ray of sunshine.”
When he was called up for reserve duty, Maya said the couple were already talking about getting engaged and holding a wedding.
“His friends said he couldn’t stop talking about us, that he would come back with a ring. It was clear to us we would get married,” she recounted. “One time, sitting outside the hotel in Tel Aviv [where she was evacuated to after war broke out in the north], I talked to him on the phone and said, ‘Okay, let’s get married,’ and he said, ‘Alright, I’m calling the rabbi.’ We agreed that the next time he came out, we’d do it. We never got the chance.”
