Sgt. Ron Sherman, 19: Animal lover with a ‘captivating smile’
Kidnapped from his IDF base on October 7, killed in captive in November 2023, his body retrieved in December 2023
Sgt. Ron Sherman, 19, a COGAT soldier, from Lehavim, was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 from his army base next to the Erez Crossing. He died in captivity and his body was brought back to Israel in December 2023.
Ron’s family said the morning of the attack he was on the phone with his mother before they got cut off, and he switched to sending WhatsApp messages. At 7:12 a.m., Ron wrote: “That’s it, Mom, they’re here, it’s over, I love you.”
But hours later the family came across Hamas videos showing him bound in the back of a pickup truck after being kidnapped. Ron’s comrades, Staff Sgt. Or Malka, Sgt. Emil Samoylov and Cpl. Lidor Mekayes were killed on the base on October 7, while Ron, Cpl. Nik Beizer and Sgt. Tamir Nimrodi were taken hostage alive.
On December 14, 2023, IDF troops recovered Ron’s body from a tunnel in northern Gaza along with those of Nik and Elia Toledano. Tamir is believed to still be held hostage.
An IDF investigation published in September 2024 revealed that Ron, Elia and Nik were killed on November 10, 2023, as a result of a “byproduct” of an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, likely indicating that they suffocated or were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning inside a tunnel. Ron’s family said he had asthma and needed an inhaler.
Ron was buried on December 15, 2023, in Lehavim. He is survived by his parents, Maayan and Alexander and his siblings Dan and Eden.
Born in Petah Tikva, Ron grew up in Lehavim, a small town north of Beersheba. He attended high school in the nearby Eshel HaNasi youth village.
The oldest child of two veterinarians, Ron was a major animal lover, and was raised in a house full of pets, including many dogs and cats. His family said he was a huge soccer fan and loved to travel around the world, and was extremely competitive and very charismatic.
He enlisted in the IDF in December 2022, just 10 months before he was kidnapped. Due to his asthma, he was not able to serve in a full combat role.
“You gave us 19 years of pride and happiness,” his father, Alex, said at his funeral. “We saw you emerge into the world and from your very first moment you filled your surroundings with light. You grew up from a dreaming and sensitive child into an impressive young man, smart with a captivating smile and always surrounded by friends.”
Alex said that Ron “succeeded in everything you set your mind to and you had dreams that you undoubtedly would have achieved, if your life had not been cut short in such a tragic and horrible manner.”
Amid the family’s pain, he said, “we will try to remember you with the smile and the mischievous and confident expression that so characterized you. You came back to us Ron, it’s over. You’re home. In our hearts.”
His younger brother, Dan, wrote on an Instagram memorial page that the world is “a cruel place that doesn’t allow pure and good people like you the opportunity to grow, to accomplish their dreams, to build a family.”
Dan said Ron was “an incredible person, loved by so many friends, smart, opinionated and funny. I can’t imagine my life without you, and the fact that you can’t continue your life, because I know it would have been incredible.”
He said that just a few days before Ron was kidnapped, “you played with me on the new PlayStation and I felt that we had gone back to playing like when we were kids. I missed it so much, I wanted us to play together again.”
