Members of a frontline combat unit marked the end of their mandatory service this week by visiting the graves of eight comrades killed during the ongoing war with Hamas, a gesture underscoring the deep toll the war has taken on combat soldiers.
The soldiers served in the assault and reconnaissance company of the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion, which on October 7, 2023, was deployed across three strategic points along the Gaza border: Erez Crossing, Yiftach Camp and the K2 outpost.
Sgt. Ofir Yeruchin’s comrades cut their military IDs at his grave
The unit lost seven men that day in the Hamas-led surprise attack: Sgt. Ariel Erez, Sgt. Yaron Zohar, Sgt. Adir Tahar, Staff Sgt. Daniel Danino, Sgt. Ilay Bar Sadeh, Sgt. Nathanel Young and Staff Sgt. Roey Weiser. Two days later, another member, Sgt. Ofir Yeruchin, was killed in action near the Gaza border.
On Monday, nearly two years and eight months after enlisting in November 2022, surviving members of the company gathered at the soldiers’ graves to honor their fallen on the day of their discharge. At Segula Cemetery in Petah Tikva, seven soldiers visited Yeruchin’s grave, symbolically cutting their army IDs—an Israeli rite of discharge—at the burial site.
“We were very close with Ofir,” said Guy Mizrahi, 21, in an interview with Ynet. “He was the only one in our unit killed after October 7. It happened two days later—he was misidentified as a terrorist and shot. His family is in great pain. We wanted to be there today. We divided up between all the graves. It was very emotional. We felt like Ofir was cutting the ID with us.”
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From top left: Sgt. Ariel Erez, Sgt. Yaron Zohar, Sgt. Ofir Yeruchin, Staff Sgt. Daniel Danino, Sgt. Adir Tahar, Sgt. Ilay Bar Sadeh, Staff Sgt. Roey Weiser, Sgt. Nathanel Young
(Photo: from Facebook, IDF courtesy of the families)
Though their regular service has ended, the soldiers are immediately entering reserve duty amid ongoing operations in Gaza. “The whole company is going straight into reserves—basically, we don’t get a break,” Mizrahi said. “We have four more months of reserve duty under the 7th Armored Brigade. Most of us are completely exhausted. We’ve been maneuvering since October 7. On the one hand, we’re worn out. But we also feel deeply fulfilled by what we’ve done.”
The sister of Sgt. Ariel Erez shared an emotional tribute on Facebook marking the discharge day of her brother’s unit, many of whom had trained and fought alongside him.
“Today, your friends are cutting their military IDs,” Ayala, Erez’s sister, wrote in a post on a memorial page dedicated to him. “The ones you enlisted with, went through basic training with, through advanced training, the beret march and then straight to the Gaza front.”
“They were your best friends. They became family. Some of them were with you on that Saturday that shattered all of our hearts. Some were there with you in your final moments. A few saw your heart stop beating with their own eyes. And eight of you won’t be cutting your IDs today.”
She continued: “My heart breaks for you. You wanted this day so badly. You waited for it. You gave everything and more in just ten months of service. We used to count the months together, and then suddenly, without warning, it all stopped. And silence fell. A silence that tears the heart apart. Today I don’t want to celebrate anyone’s release; I just want to mourn you. To hurt for you. Today is unbearably hard. The sense of loss, the emptiness. When the house is this silent, I still try to imagine you’re in the army and will be home soon. What now? Where do I picture you? You were my whole world. You’re my hero. I’ll never accept or get used to life without you. I just wish you’d come back already.”
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Ayala attached two photos to her post. “In the first, from December 12, 2022, you’re at the induction center, smiling that beautiful smile. The second is from October 6, 2023 — a Friday. You and Litka stopping to eat ice cream, not knowing that in just a few hours you’d enter hell, and never return.”
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David Tahar, father of Sgt. Adir Tahar, at the grave of his son who fell in the October 7 terrorist attack
(Photo: Shalev Shalom)
David Tahar, father of Sgt. Adir Tahar spoke of the day with mixed emotions. “The pain is constant. It never leaves us — we live with it,” he said. “But I’m also happy to hear Adir’s friends are cutting their IDs. Thank God, I’m grateful some survived, continued to fight for their fallen comrades and for the people of Israel. Today they’re cutting their IDs and going straight into reserve duty — that’s the Israeli spirit.”
“Personally, it hurts deeply,” he added, “but there’s hope. These heroic young people who fought on October 7 are still fighting for the nation — left, right, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we all understand the need to stand united against the evil we face.”
Tahar said he plans to publish video footage of his son from that day to shake the country’s conscience. “I’m going to shock the nation,” he said. “People need to understand what happened to us on October 7. With all the pain, my son went through something horrific — and people must remember.”