Staff Sgt. Naor Siboni, 20: ‘Sharp and goal-oriented’ Golani marksman
Killed battling Hamas at the Nahal Oz IDF outpost on October 7
Staff Sgt. Naor Siboni, 20, a Golani Brigade soldier from Gilat, was killed on October 7 battling the Hamas invasion of the Nahal Oz IDF outpost.
When the rocket fire began, he messaged his family a photo of the sky streaked with missiles and told them he was fine, they said. Fifteen minutes later, his sister tried to phone him and he declined the call, writing to her, “Don’t call now, everything’s good.” That was their final communication.
His mother said they later found out that Naor, a marksman, headed up to the shooting position at the base, and saw in shock the hundreds of Hamas terrorists infiltrating the base. He ran to the bomb shelter to warn his comrades, and headed back to the post, only to find it had been destroyed by an RPG. Naor’s platoon commander, Lt. Yohai Dukhan told Naor to use the bomb shelter as a base from which to battle the invading terrorists. He did so until he was shot, and his friends dragged him inside, where they treated him for several hours until he was killed when Hamas gunmen threw a grenade into the shelter.
Naor was buried in Gilat on October 11. He is survived by his parents, Dakar and Tzila Siboni, and his siblings Dor, Rotem and Eliya.
A eulogy on the Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team website said Naor had “a heart of gold, a heart of yellow,” the team’s colors. “A die-hard devotee of Maccabi Tel Aviv and a fan of [singer] Eyal Golan.” Naor “had a smile that lit up every heart, one full of love that immediately caused a smile in return. A kind and special ray of sunshine unique to him.”
Naor’s sister, Rotem, wrote to him on Instagram a little over a month after he was killed: “Thank you that in our final conversation, you told me everything was OK, that you didn’t go and leave me worried.”
“Thank you for the privilege of visiting you the day before and bringing you all sorts of treats you love, and for the hug and the kiss that since that Saturday are missing like air to breathe,” she wrote. “Thank you that a week before you made me go out with you to the techno club, who could even believe it of me?… Thank you, my love, for being my little brother. For being there for me in every moment, for appreciating what I did for you, for always telling me that you love me with yellow hearts, thank you for everything.”
His mother, Tzila, told Ynet that Naor “was unafraid, was sharp and goal-oriented, he killed many terrorists until he fell heroically.”
“Since Naor died,” she said, “I keep hearing more and more stories about the immense love for people he had.”
“Naor, as all his acquaintances attest, was compassionate and kind and saw every person as a human being,” Tzila added. “Even in his childhood, he would open our home to children who were ostracized at school, and during his military service, he continued to assist lone soldiers and those in need.”
“He used to give in secret, share food and drink with his friends, and take care of anyone who lacked money or clothing. Naor always reiterated that the verse ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ was the one he placed in front of him, and he acted according to it until his last day.”
