‘Went out to fight and didn’t come home’: Funerals held for 2 soldiers killed in Gaza
Saadia Yaakov Derai was ‘gentle as a feather’; Omer Smadga, killed on his father’s birthday, insisted on serving: ‘You didn’t hesitate for a second’; 2 reservists killed in mortar strike
Sgt. First Class (res.) Omer Smadga, 25, and Sgt. First Class (res.) Saadia Yaakov Derai, 27, were laid to rest on Friday, as Israel mourned the two soldiers killed in a Hamas mortar attack in the central Gaza Strip a day earlier.
Both soldiers fought in the Alexandroni Brigade’s 9203rd Battalion. Three other soldiers in the brigade were seriously wounded in the incident, the Israel Defense Forces said.
Thousands of Israelis came to pay their respects to the two fallen troops.
Smadga, from the small community of Ganot Hadar, was buried in the military cemetery of nearby Netanya.
“Omer, we can’t believe that we are standing in front of your grave,” said Smadga’s mother Liat in her eulogy. When it came time to serve in the IDF, her son insisted that he serve in the Golani combat brigade, saying he would not enlist otherwise, she said.
“We were so proud of you, that you fought and stood your ground, and you won, and you served in full,” Liat said. “On October 7, that cursed day, you were immediately called up. You didn’t hesitate for a second, you put on your uniform and went up north.”
“When you were called up to reserve duty again, we were very afraid. My stomach turned over,” she said, “I had a very bad feeling. Every day, I texted you and asked for a sign of life. You were courageous and heroic and you fell as a hero.”
“We heard from the commanders what really happened there, we saw a commander who was shattered and pained,” said Smadga’s father, Oren. “Here I say to you soldiers, hold your head up high, stay as strong as you can, continue to amp up, and don’t stop until we win.”
Oren Smadga marked his 54th birthday on Thursday when he received the news that his son had been killed. Omer had wished his father a happy birthday that morning.
The elder Smadga is a judo champion who serves as the coach of Israel’s men’s Olympic team, and himself won the bronze medal in the 1992 games in Barcelona.
Fellow Israeli Judo medalists Olympians Arik Zeevi, Sagi Muki and Yael Arad attended the funeral.
Netanya Mayor Miriam Feirberg also attended, along with Transportation Minister Miri Regev, MK Eli Dallal and the leaders of several neighboring local councils, Ynet reported.
Omer Smadga is survived by his parents and a younger brother and sister.
Sgt. First Class (res.) Saadia Yaakov Derai, 27, was also interred Friday. A resident of Jaffa, Derai was buried in the military cemetery of Holon.
סעדיה דרעי, בעזה, בבוקר האחרון לחייו. pic.twitter.com/VqgbI5eQ1I
— עמית סגל Amit Segal (@amit_segal) June 21, 2024
Derai was a rabbinical student in the Jaffa’s Shirat Moshe Yeshiva.
The soldier’s widow eulogized him: “You taught the love of the people of Israel. You were willing to give your life for Israel,” she said.
“You said you couldn’t stay at home in the air conditioning when soldiers were getting killed,” she added. “You went out to fight and didn’t come home.”
Derai was the second of six children of Haim and Laly Derai, from the West Bank settlement of Eli.
Laly Derai is a news pundit and social activist, who is a member of the central West Bank’s Binyamin regional council and has participated in the Likud party primaries.
“We have a holy mission — to seek union between community and the individual,” said the bereaved mother. “We seek unity and equality, in the army and private life. You proved it’s possible to combine the two.”
Haim Derai said his son was “gentle as a feather.”
“As a squadron commander you cared for your soldiers, you were like a father to them,” said the elder Derai. Saadia, he said, “knew the entire Torah.
“You were sharp in wisdom and in the Talmud. A wonderful child.”
"התורה נדרשת בכלל ופרט
המדינה הזאת נדרשת בכלל ופרט".הספד של ללי דרעי לבנה, סעדיה, שנפל אתמול בעזה. ללי את אישה גדולה, עם משפחה ענקית של אור.
יהי זכרו של סעדיה ברוך.ישראל שלי pic.twitter.com/tq8MYWAEjq
— ישראל שלי | MyIsrael (@MyIsraelorgil) June 21, 2024
Saadia Yaakov Derai is survived by his parents, five siblings, his wife Racheli and their two children: two-year-old daughter Halleli and one-year-old son Yinon.
Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, Health Minister Uriel Busso, Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman, and MKs Boaz Bismuth, Galit Distel Atbaryan and Amit Halevi were present, Ynet reported.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the mortar attack that killed the two soldiers, saying it had targeted a military position near Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood.
The deaths brought the toll of slain troops in the ground offensive against Hamas and in operations on the Gaza border to 314. The toll includes a police officer killed in a hostage rescue mission. A civilian Defense Ministry contractor has also been killed in the Strip.
