A friendly fire incident claimed the life of an IDF soldier overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, the military said on Wednesday morning, reported The Jerusalem Post. The 21-year-old soldier has been identified as St. -Sgt. Ofri Yafe who served as a fighter in the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit.
He hailed from Kibbutz Megiddo in northern Israel originally.
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He is survived by...
According to The Jerusalem Post, a friendly fire during a nighttime operation claimed the life of Yafe. The operation was being run by paratroopers forces in the Khan Yunis area of Gaza on Tuesday night. He was reportedly critically injured in the firing and rushed for medical treatment before being pronounced dead.
He is survived by his parents, Hadas and Yiftach, and three younger brothers, Noy, Tzuf and Itamar, reported The Jerusalem Post.
The Jerusalem Post is investigating the incident and the family has been notified.
Family in shock
"We are shocked by the tragedy and cannot digest the loss of Ofri, our beloved son. This is incomprehensible," the Yafe family told The Jerusalem Post.
Kibbutz Megiddo, where Yafe was raised, eulogized him as a "a lively young man, surrounded by friends, and deeply loved".
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"Ofri grew up in Kibbutz Megiddo and studied at Megiddo High School, surrounded by a loving family and friends. He was a young man of values, raised to give and to show courage, with his whole future ahead of him. Our hearts are broken," said Head of the Megiddo Regional Council, Gil Lin, stated The Jerusalem Post.
"Our hearts are broken with the fall of Ofri, a son of our valley. A brave young man, full of life and values, who chose to serve and contribute to the state out of a sense of mission and love of the land," said Jezreel Valley council head Shlomit Shihor Reichman.
"Today, the Jezreel Valley embraces the Yafe family and the entire HaYogev community. The pain is unbearable, and we stand beside the family in their difficult hour. The entire Jezreel Valley is united in mourning and sorrow."
