Thousands attended Sunday’s funeral of Sgt. 1st Class Maher Khatar, 38, from Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights. Khatar, a heavy engineering equipment operator in the Combat Engineering Corps’ 91st Division, was killed during operational activity in southern Lebanon. Another soldier was killed in the incident; his family has been notified and his name has not yet been cleared for publication.
The funeral was held at the community hall in Majdal Shams, with thousands of residents from the Golan Heights, the Galilee and the Carmel in attendance, alongside religious leaders, municipal officials and public figures who came to pay their final respects.
Speakers at the funeral described Khatar’s character, his generosity and his deep love for his family and community. Friends said he was among the first young men from Majdal Shams to enlist in the IDF.
Relatives said Khatar was deeply affected by the rocket strike on a soccer field in Majdal Shams in July 2024, when 12 children were killed by a Hezbollah rocket. Khatar is survived by his wife and two daughters.
He is the third fallen soldier from Majdal Shams in Israel’s wars, following two others who were killed in 1952 and 1988. In the past, residents of the town generally did not enlist in the IDF, as Israel’s mandatory conscription law does not apply to Druze residents of the Golan Heights and some were not Israeli citizens.
In recent years, however, a shift has emerged, reflecting a growing trend of military service among the younger generation. About 150 young men from Majdal Shams have enlisted in the IDF.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett attended the funeral in Majdal Shams and said in his eulogy: “The covenant between the Druze of the Golan and the State of Israel has been sealed with the bravery and blood of Sgt. 1st Class Maher Khatar of Majdal Shams. Israeli Druze, Israeli Jews — we are brothers.”
The spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community, Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif, said: “Maher joins the list of Druze soldiers who have fallen since the Swords of Iron war began following the massacre near the Gaza border in October 2023. Maher is the first casualty since the start of Operation Roaring Lion, a title no one seeks and no family wishes to bear.”
The incident in which Khatar was killed occurred at an outpost near Margaliot on the Ramim Ridge, one of several new positions the IDF established following the latest ground maneuver in Lebanon.
A combat engineering force that included two D9 armored bulldozers went out to recover a tank from the 601st Battalion that was stuck. During the rescue operation, one of the 91st Division’s D9 bulldozers was hit — possibly by a mortar that struck a fuel tank or by an anti-tank missile — killing two soldiers.
Immediately afterward, heavy barrages of fire were launched, and numerous targets in the area were struck by Israeli Air Force fighter jets.
IDF troops stationed at outposts in southern Lebanon are tasked with defending Israeli communities, while the military also carries out extensive offensive operations in the area aimed at removing threats. An IDF spokesman said Sunday that about 200 Hezbollah operatives were killed over the past week.