Relatives, friends and acquaintances gathered over the holiday at the Haifa home of 23-year-old Itai Parson, an officer in Yamam, Israel Police’s elite counterterrorism unit, who drowned while diving off the northern city last week. His body was found Saturday after an intensive three-day search.
“Itai was the best friend in the world — always smiling, devoted, gifted and, above all, the person who always gave good advice and helped,” his friends told Ynet. “His death is impossible to comprehend. We are shocked and still can’t process this tragedy.”
Parson’s funeral is expected to be held Monday at Haifa’s military cemetery.
At the family home, his parents were joined by his siblings and Parson’s longtime girlfriend, Nicole, who attended Haifa’s Hebrew Reali School with him. His mother, Rona Parson, is a Haifa Magistrate’s Court judge, while his father, Alex, is a dentist. His brother Yair returned from a trip to Thailand following the tragedy. Parson is also survived by his brother Yoav and two younger sisters.
Parson went freediving Thursday at Student Beach in Haifa. A relative accompanied him on a kayak and remained about 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) offshore while Parson entered the water. When he failed to return, the relative alerted rescue services.
His body was found Saturday on the seabed about 800 meters (half a mile) from shore. The circumstances that led to his drowning remain unclear.
The discovery ended a massive three-day search involving hundreds of police officers, rescue workers, military personnel and volunteers. Authorities deployed drones, a police helicopter, light aircraft, boats, jet skis and other equipment.
The Navy joined the operation, deploying personnel from Shayetet 13, its elite naval commando unit, and Yaltam, the Navy’s specialized underwater missions unit. Parson had been freediving without breathing equipment. Border Police, marine police, canine and mounted units, firefighters, volunteer divers, lifeguards and several Israeli emergency and rescue organizations also took part.
“From the moment the report was received, Israel Police deployed hundreds of officers, fighters and volunteers who worked without interruption day and night, at sea, in the air and along the coastline,” Carmel District Commander Brig. Gen. Boaz Samucha said after Parson was found.
From pilot training to an elite police unit
Parson enlisted in the IDF in January 2023 and initially entered the Air Force’s prestigious pilot training course. He later transferred to the Border Police, where he served in an undercover combat unit.
The search for Parson
(Photo: Israel Police)
Police said Parson transferred to compulsory service in the Border Police in August 2023, completed combat training and entered a specialized undercover training track. After completing his military service, he joined Yamam as a career officer in December 2025, serving on its observation and drone team.
He would have celebrated his 24th birthday in three months and had been expected to leave police service later.
Friends described Parson as charismatic, talented and striking, with a memorable sense of humor and an appetite for challenges.
“He loved challenges and took part in ‘Ninja Israel’ a few years ago,” they said, referring to the Israeli version of the obstacle-course television competition “Ninja Warrior.” “He injured his shoulder there. He didn’t talk much about his service in the military and police, but we knew he was one of the best and most talented in the group.”
Riki Rosenthal, who was Parson’s homeroom teacher during his three years at the Hebrew Reali School’s Beit Biram high school campus, remembered him as an exceptional student with a deep attachment to those closest to him.
“He was a people person, with a warm smile, handsome, sensitive and empathetic,” Rosenthal said. “He loved challenges, but he was levelheaded, thoughtful and goal-oriented, and he excelled in his studies.”
“He was very close to his parents, his sisters, his brothers and Nicole,” she added. “It is an enormous tragedy that the heart refuses to comprehend. The Reali School family shares in the profound grief of his family and friends.”
The school also mourned its 2022 graduate in a Facebook post, saying it had learned “with great sorrow and grief” of the death of Yamam officer Master Sgt. Itai Parson in a diving accident.
Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav offered condolences to the family, saying the entire city was mourning with them.
“Our hearts broke upon receiving the terrible news,” Yahav wrote on Facebook. “At this painful hour, all of Haifa embraces his parents, brothers and sisters, his partner, his friends and everyone who loved him.”
“On behalf of the city of Haifa and its residents, I send the Parson family our deepest condolences and the embrace of an entire city,” he added. “May Itai’s memory be a blessing.”