Those we have lost

Staff Sgt. Daniel Shperber, 20: IDF balloonist slain day after birthday

Killed battling the Hamas invasion of the Nahal Oz IDF outpost on Oct. 7

Staff Sgt. Daniel Shperber (IDF)
Staff Sgt. Daniel Shperber (IDF)

Staff Sgt. Daniel Shperber, 20, a surveillance balloon operator in the Border Defense Corps’s 414th unit from Yehud, was killed on October 7 battling the Hamas invasion of the Nahal Oz IDF outpost.

Daniel was one of five balloon operators on duty that morning at the Nahal Oz outpost, along with Sgt. Shimon Lugasi, Staff Sgt. Alroy Ben Shitrit, Staff Sgt. Neta Baram and Sgt. Amir Eyal.

The five, who were responsible for operating a large white surveillance balloon that was supposed to collect information from deep inside Gaza, were waiting for a repair crew to arrive and fix the malfunctioning balloon when the Hamas invasion began.

The IDF has said it is investigating whether the balloons were merely malfunctioning or had been sabotaged by Hamas as part of its advance preparations for the onslaught.

The five balloonists fought back against the mass invasion of the outpost by Hamas terrorists, but heavily outnumbered, all five were killed in the battle waged from inside an on-base shelter.

Daniel was slain one day after celebrating his 20th birthday — during which his mother visited him on base, snapping the last photo they would have together. He was buried on October 12 in Yehud.

זוכרים את דניאל שפרבר ????

Posted by Orit Frank on Sunday, October 6, 2024

He is survived by his parents, Liat and Gil, and his younger brother Noam, as well as two half siblings Atay and Eve.

Born and raised in Yehud, he was a huge fan of the Maccabi Haifa soccer team and he loved to hang out at the beach and the pool, watch horror movies and play computer games, according to a military eulogy.

After finishing high school, he enlisted in the IDF and was placed in the Border Defense Corps’s 414th unit and trained as a balloon operator. He was first stationed in the Paga outpost next to Be’eri, although the balloon had a number of technical issues and was ultimately disabled. Daniel was then moved to the Nahal Oz outpost about two months before he was killed there.

His mother, Liat, told Haaretz that Daniel enjoyed his army posting and being near the kibbutz next door: “He would take a bathing suit to the base in the summer, and when they got permission, they would go to the Nahal Oz pool,” she said. “They liked being there. It gave me peace of mind that he wasn’t somewhere that made him depressed to return to base. He liked his job and liked his comrades.”

Shortly after his death, his younger brother, Noam, wrote on Instagram, “My dear and beloved brother. I know that you are now in a better place, and I hope that you’re watching over us from above and see how proud we are of you, and how much honor we are giving you because you saved entire families. I love you, my brother.”

Daniel’s grandmother, Lucy, wrote online, “I miss you so much. I’m still waiting for the door to open with the keys in your hand. Your life was cut short too soon, all the plans that you planned on your breaks [from the army] when you came to visit us every two weeks will never come true. I miss you so much and I will love you forever. Rest in peace my beloved eldest grandson, beautiful and handsome, smart, modest and kind.”

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