Staff Sgt. Itay Ron, 20: Golani soldier ‘sacrificed himself for others’
Killed battling Hamas terrorists at the Nahal Oz IDF base on October 7
Staff Sgt. Itay Avraham Ron, 20, a Golani soldier from Ness Ziona, was killed on October 7 battling the Hamas invasion of the Nahal Oz IDF outpost.
According to a eulogy on the Ness Ziona municipal website, Itay, Lt. Yohai Dukhan, Warrant Officer Ibrahim Kharuba and a fourth soldier named Nimrod — who were trained to protect the base and its personnel — battled the Hamas gunmen down to their last bullets outside the Nahal Oz command center, attempting to protect the base’s war room and the surveillance soldiers holed up inside.
But as the attackers advanced, the troops eventually became trapped in the command center itself along with a number of surveillance soldiers. Itay, Yohai and Ibrahim were all killed, as were almost all of the soldiers inside the war room. Nimrod survived.
Itay was buried on October 13 in Ness Ziona. He is survived by his mother, Dorit, and brother Amit. His father, Eran, died of a heart attack when Itay was 14.
His family said Itay was involved in sports from a young age and was always active — at age 6 he started learning capoeira, and by 11 he was an assistant to the coach and winning local contests. He also served as a soccer referee from ages 15-18 and was a devoted fan of the Hapoel Tel Aviv team.
Enlisting in a combat position was his utmost goal, and he worked out strenuously for two years at the end of high school to raise his preparedness level, even bringing in friends to his workout routine with the same goal.
His mother, Dorit, told the Kan public radio that her son and the other two officers “were heroes, they fought until their last moments, and I know that Itay, if he would come back there again today, would do exactly the same thing — even if he knew that it would have the same outcome.”
“I don’t have words to describe the pride he brought me and the privilege to be called the mother of Itay,” she added.
Dorit added that her son “was a fighter. His friends said he was a fighter, he never gave up for a moment, and he always put others ahead of himself. He was always last, he always wanted things to be good for everyone else. He truly was a hero of Israel who sacrificed himself for others.”
