Staff Sgt. Daniel Bezgodov, 21: Had ‘muscles as big as his heart’
Killed battling Hamas terrorists near Kibbutz Sufa on October 7
Staff Sgt. Daniel Bezgodov, 21, a soldier in the Nahal Brigade’s reconnaissance unit from Afula, was killed on October 7.
His family said that when the Hamas onslaught began, he was on a routine patrol of the area around Kibbutz Sufa when they were attacked and his commander was killed. Daniel took charge, and they later encountered further terrorists cells and he was slain in the firefight after killing a number of terrorists.
He was buried on October 13 in Afula. Daniel is survived by his mother, Margarita, and his siblings Sandra, Vladislav, Yasmin and Adam.
As a lover of nature, in his memory Afula named a section of a park in the city “Nahal Daniel Park,” unveiling a sign and a plaque there in his honor. He was dedicated to his gym workout, loved animals and hiking, and fought hard to serve in an elite military unit.
His friend Natan Edri wrote on Facebook about “the man, the personality, the hero of Israel.”
“Bezgodov was the best person I knew, and I witnessed this from the very beginning of getting to know him,” wrote Edri. “A big guy, handsome, physically very strong with muscles as big as his heart. He never hurt a fly. He always sought out and did only good. Everybody always went along with him even without wanting to… [He was ] loved by everyone, accepted everything with love, always had a smile on his face.”
His girlfriend of two years, Stav Levy, wrote online to “my whole world, my other half, the love of my life.”
“Daniel was different than all the other people I knew, the first time I saw him I was so moved that it was hard to breathe, I thought he was the most beautiful person I’d ever seen in life — and when we got to know each other deeply I realized that however handsome he was on the outside, he was so much more beautiful inside,” wrote Stav.
“He was a perfect boyfriend like in the fairytales, the type who picks flowers, writes love letters and takes us to couples workshops so that we can develop our relationship together,” she added. “Daniel was the most determined and competitive man I knew, everything he did he had to do his best. He was hilarious, a chatterbox, and loved dancing of any kind, anywhere (including in the middle of the street).”
His mother, Margarita, told a local radio station that “Daniel was meant to be released from the army in another six months, and he wanted to get married, he had plans in life — this boy, this man of mine. He had a lot of plans, he had a lot of joy for life, and his heart was so full of love.”
Margarita said Daniel “loved nature, loved his family, loved his girlfriend. He was just all light, a sun, I don’t know how to explain his life in other words.” Her son, she said, “was a fighter, was a leader since birth… I can’t breathe without him. It’s such a deep hole in my heart. The same with all his siblings, his girlfriend, his friends — they all loved him. He always had a smile, he loved his life.”
