Jerusalem – The IDF on Wednesday evening released the names of the IDF officer and soldier who were killed in an earlier Hezbollah attack on the Lebanese border.
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Cap. Yohai Klangel, an officer in the Tsavar Battalion of the Givati Brigade, 25, from Har Gilo lost his life in the anti-tank missile attack on the IDF vehicle he was riding in. He will be post-humously promoted to major.
Sgt. Dor Haim Nini, a 20-year-old soldier in the Tsavar Battalion from Shtulim was also killed in the attack. Nini will be posthumously promoted to the rank of Staff-Sergeant.
Seven other soldiers were lightly-to-moderately injured in the attack and were recovering in hospitals in the North.
Kalangel grew up in the West Bank settlement of Elazar and leaves behind a wife, Tali, and their one-year-old child. He is one of six siblings, and on Independence Day this year he was awarded a General Staff commendation for excellence.
On Wednesday night, Aviel Nini, Dor’s brother, said he spoke to Dor on Whatsapp on Tuesday night, after he arrived in the North. Aviel said his brother spoke to his girlfriend at 9:30 a.m. and told her “don’t worry, I’m coming back later today.”
“My little brother is a hero, a fighter who loved the army. He was never afraid of anything, was always smiling,” he added.
The violence was the deadliest Hezbollah attack against Israeli forces since a 2006 war between the two sides.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would respond “forcefully” to the attack, and the military launched aerial and ground assault on Hezbollah positions, including at least 50 artillery shells according to Lebanese officials.
Hezbollah said the attack was carried out by a group calling itself the “righteous martyrs of Quneitra,” suggesting it was in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike on the Golan Heights on Jan. 18 that killed six Hezbollah fighters and an Iranian general.
BD”E
Heartbreaking.
True heroes of Tzahal…we should daven (all denominations of frumkeit) for the brave soldiers of tzahal, who risk their lives on a daily basis for klal.
You rest in peace my dear brothers.
May Hashem avenge your blood.