‘There can be no consolation for your pain,’ Rivlin tells slain soldier’s family

President Reuven Rivlin on Monday visited the family of Staff Sgt. Aviv Levi, who was killed by Palestinian sniper fire on the Gaza border on Friday.

“There can be no consolation for your pain,” Rivlin told Levi’s parents, extended family, and girlfriend. “The loss is too hard to bear. The people embrace you at this difficult hour.

“Your child protected us all,” he said. “Our entire security is dependent on these young soldiers who bear the burden of defending our nation. Thanks to them we are developing our country. That is our strength and that is our pain.”

Levi’s mother, Perla, said she hoped her son would be the last soldier to fall for the nation. “No mother should feel this pain. No mother should lose her child.”

The family was vacationing abroad when they were notified of Aviv’s death. His father, Yaakov, praised the conduct of Israeli officials.

“I wish to particularly note the treatment and warmth on the most difficult day of our lives by the Foreign Ministry staff and the military attache in Italy,” he said. “They carried out their jobs in a gentle and praiseworthy manner.”

Levi’s uncle Noam told Rivlin the family had received much love from around the country in recent days.

“We are being embraced completely. The [Israeli] people have all come to our aid,” he said. “The morning after [Levi was killed] someone left a box with bread and vegetables on the doorstep, with no name. That’s the Israeli people.”

Levi, 21, from Petah Tikva, was an infantry soldier in the Givati Brigade. He was the first IDF fatality on the Gaza front since the 2014 war.

On Sunday, hundreds of mourners attended Levi’s funeral.

“It is not easy to eulogize a child. It is not natural,” Levi’s father told the crowd of mourners.

“You were a ray of light for us, glowing and smiling. We loved to watch you grow into the man you became. You were the salt of the earth and paid the highest price because you excelled. You did not evade any task, big or small. You watched over your friends. We are not parting from you — you will be with us forever.”

Levi’s sister Noy also spoke of the family’s loss.

“It was not your time to leave us. You were a wonderful brother, a figure to admire, a thoughtful boy and a very handsome and special man,” she said.

Levi was close to Kibbutz Kisufim by the Gaza border when he was shot at around 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The army said he was killed by a Hamas gunman and that there was an exchange of fire.

Levi was wearing a bulletproof vest when he was hit in the chest, and was initially listed as seriously wounded, but his condition deteriorated quickly.

On Sunday, Hadashot TV news reported the army believes Levi was hit by an armor-piercing bullet fired from an Iranian-manufactured rifle.

According to the report, the IDF was aware Hamas was in possession of such weapons, which can penetrate the standard ceramic vests used by the majority of soldiers. However, given the low likelihood of the rifle’s use, and the heavier weight of vests capable of protecting from such bullets, more specialized protective wear is only used in special cases.

After Levi’s death, Israel unleashed an offensive that it says destroyed more than 60 Hamas targets, including three battalion headquarters. Four Palestinians were killed, of which Hamas said three were its fighters.