Hundreds of people on Tuesday attended the funeral of IDF Staff Sgt. Amit Ben-Yigal, killed overnight during a raid on a terrorist hub in the West Bank village of Yabed.
Ben-Yigal, 21, who served in a Golani Brigade reconnaissance unit, is the first IDF casualty of 2020. The funeral was held at the Beer Yaakov military cemetery, in central Israel.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Ben-Yigal was fatally struck by a cement block thrown at Israeli forces during an arrest mission in Yabed. The troops detained over 10 residents from the building and were headed out when the block was thrown.
Ben-Yigal was wearing a helmet as part of his protective gear, but it failed against the weight of the block thrown at him.
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, representing the government, spoke at the funeral, saying, "Golani soldiers, you'll go back to fighting and find the terrorist and wicked [person] who did this and together we'll defeat our enemies," he said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a message of condolence to the Ben-Yigal family on Twitter.
"On behalf of the Israeli public and myself, I would like to send my sincere condolences to the family of Amit Ben-Yigal, who was murdered tonight by a criminal during an [IDF] operation. May his memory be a blessing. As with all such incidents in recent years, Israel's long arm will reach the terrorist and bring him to justice," the prime minister wrote.
"I love you so much. My son is a hero," Ben-Yigal's mother, Nava Revivo, cried out over his grave. "I'll be strong. Watch over us from above.
"You changed my life, my beloved child, my firstborn son. Your sisters don't understand what's happening. We'll preserve your memory, your happiness, your love," she wept.
Ben-Yigal's father eulogized, "Amit isn't an only child. He has millions of other siblings who are grieving, who admire [him] and who know our lives in Israel depend on the courage of Amit and his friends," Baruch Ben-Yigal said.
"I don't have anything else. I don't have any other children. My only son," he said. "I'm not a father now. I'm nothing. What a price I have paid."
According to IDF directives, teens who are lone children must obtain their parents' consent to serve in combat units, especially those routinely engaged in high-risk missions. Ben-Yigal's father granted him special permission to serve in Golani.
His mother has two other children from a second marriage.
