IDF soldier Sgt. Yosef Yehuda Chirak, who was killed Monday in northern Gaza, died as a result of friendly fire, the military confirmed Tuesday following a preliminary investigation.
According to the probe, Chirak’s unit had entered a building to investigate and destroy a tunnel shaft. While they were inside, another platoon was securing the area. The investigation found that Chirak, who was inside the building at the time, was accidentally shot and killed by the force securing the area.
Chirak, a 22-year-old combat engineer from the settlement of Harasha in the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, is the first soldier killed in Operation Gideon’s Chariots. Since the war in Gaza began, 857 IDF soldiers have fallen. Chirak is survived by his parents, three sisters and his wife, Emunah, whom he married just seven months ago.
Speaking to public broadcaster Kan Radio Tuesday morning, his parents described the heartbreaking moment soldiers came to their door. “We received a deposit from heaven — for 22 and a half years. We thank God for that gift,” his mother said. “The longing is already a part of me and now it's stronger.”
His father recalled their final conversation just hours before Yosef was killed. “I told him, ‘Yosef, hold on to joy—that's what matters most,’” he said. Yosef had promised to call back that evening.
Yosef was born following years-long struggle with infertility. “A doctor once told us, ‘You’ll have children when I grow hair on my palm,’” his mother recounted. “We chose faith. Then came Yosef Yehuda—and soon after, his younger sister.”
“He was the only son among daughters. He glued us together. So full of energy,” she added. “Faith guided everything he did. He even married someone named Emunah (Hebrew for faith), which we could joke about, but it was true — faith drove him through every doubt and challenge.”
His aunt, Gila Shai, who lives in London, said she had danced at his wedding just seven months earlier. “Now I have to say goodbye from afar,” she told Ynet. “What a child. What a soul. He only did good.”
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Yosef’s parents said he bridged cultural divides in the family—between Yemenite, Iraqi, Dutch and German roots. “He read Torah in different traditions, loved the culture and the food and spread light,” Shai said.
She read out a post Yosef shared on Holocaust Remembrance Day, which now reads like a farewell note: “During the siren, I stood on the Namer [armored personnel carrier] in uniform with my weapon, looking at the Gaza border fence and thinking of my grandparents. I wish they could see me now. I’m part of this nation’s vanguard. Thank God for this privilege.”
“That was him,” she said. “Not right-wing, not left-wing—only unity. He was surrounded by soldiers of all backgrounds. He didn’t speak of division, only connection. He wasn’t there for politics—he was there to bring the hostages home. That’s all that mattered to him. The enemy isn’t within—it’s beyond the fence.”
Yosef studied for three years at the Midbara K’eden yeshiva in Mitzpe Ramon, which combines military service and religious study. After marrying, he returned to the yeshiva regularly. “He brought light to the world, and sadly, that light is now gone,” the yeshiva wrote in tribute.
His close friend Hoshaya Hajbi described Yosef as selfless and devoted: “He always looked for ways to make others happy, to help, to play music, to understand people. In the army, he was a true professional, a dedicated soldier and a leader.
“Even after getting married, he chose to go to the front, joining the deputy battalion commander’s team—the most forward position. We’ll do our best to carry his light forward.”
Rabbi Amir Katz, who taught Yosef at the yeshiva, added: “Meeting Yosef meant meeting joy. Faith that everything is for the best, even through pain. He connected people, connected worlds. A messenger of kindness. We didn’t know that in his final Shabbat visits, he was actually saying goodbye. He was so full of happiness. That was Yosef.”