At his family home in Nof Hagalil, the news of the death of Staff Sergeant Ilya Senkin was met with great grief.
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Senkin, 20, had served in the Givati Brigade's Rotem Battalion. He was killed on Monday in the battle in the northern Gaza Strip and was posthumously promoted from sergeant as part of Operation Swords of Iron. He leaves behind two parents, Tatiana and Yuli, and his sister Kristina.
Video: Weapons found at Shifa Hospital / Credit: X/@IDF
Kristina said that Ilya was the joy of their lives. "He was a good boy that everyone loved. He had many friends who would come to our house; there was always laughter and fun around him. Ilya insisted on joining a combat unit and he loved the army," she said.
She added that he was excited to be helping fight against Hamas following the Oct. 7 atrocities, seeing it as part of the mission to release the 240 hostages the terrorist group had taken.
"We hadn't heard from him for two straight weeks because he was in Gaza," she recalled. "Then Last Saturday, he called and said he was going back to Gaza again, and he was happy because he was going to rescue the kidnapped children. We told him it was dangerous, and he said not to worry and that we have a strong army. Yesterday, at eight-thirty at night, they [the IDF officials] knocked on the door and told us the worst possible news"
His family immigrated to Israel from Moldova, and he himself was born here in 2002. His funeral is expected to take place Wednesday with the arrival of his grandparents and aunt who remain in Moldova.
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