Sgt. Eyal Shynes, 19: Vegetarian who coached local kids in soccer

Sgt. Eyal Shynes, 19, of the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion, from Kibbutz Afik, was killed fighting in the southern Gaza Strip on June 27, 2024.

He was slain in a sniper attack claimed by Hamas in the southern city of Rafah.

His mother, Mirav, told Army Radio that she had been on the phone with Eyal, having a “great conversation with him,” when the shooting started, and she heard him yell out for his commander, and the call ended.

He was buried in Bnei Yehuda on June 28. He is survived by his parents, Mirav and Itay, and his younger brother, Noam.

Born in Petah Tikva, Eyal attended an anthroposophic school in nearby Kiryat Ono until age 9, when his family moved to Kibbutz Afik in the Golan Heights, according to an IDF obituary.

There, he attended a school in Bnei Yehuda and then went to high school in Kvutzat Kinneret, where he focused his studies on geography and then on Jewish thought. Eyal was also active in the Bnei HaMoshavim youth group, and he was a vegetarian from a young age, his family said.

Eyal was interested in sports as a child, and played basketball, tennis and soccer. He loved to play soccer – including coaching the kids on the kibbutz – as well as watch, in particular his beloved Maccabi Haifa and the Spanish Celta de Vigo club — even flying to Europe to see them play.

An obituary on his kibbutz website said, “Eyal loved to hang out with his friends, eat well, brew coffee with his outdoor camp stove, and sometimes travel around the beautiful nature of the Golan.” From a young age, it said, “he was curious and intelligent, already running at 9 months old and learning to read and write before he turned 4.”

Eyal enlisted in the IDF in August 2023, joining the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion. After he completed his initial training, he began taking part in Gaza ground operations until he was killed around four months later.

The day before he was slain, Eyal was interviewed for Misphacha magazine inside Gaza, where he said that despite his young age, he was dedicated to the task: “We do what we have to do.” He recounted losing friends in the war: “It was really hard – it’s still really hard.”

“Eyal was a man of values, moral, he had a strong sense of justice, he was a charmer,” said his mother, Mirav. “Eyal respected everyone and every opinion. He was very smart and loved sports, especially soccer, and spending time with his friends. He was a good son.”

“To fight for his country, his family, it was his calling,” she added. “I am sure he didn’t think he would lose his life. We are taking it one day at a time, but it is hard. I cannot bring him back.”

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