The IDF said late on Thursday that Chief Warrant Officer Uri Moyal, who was critically injured in a stabbing attack earlier in the day, has died. He was 51 and is survived by his wife and three children.
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The terrorist surprised Moyal from the back and managed to deal with critical stab wounds, but Moyal managed to shoot and kill the attacker before he collapsed.
Moyal, from Dimona, joined the military in 1991, and in 2021 was awarded a life achievement award from the commander of the military's technology and logistics branch.
His commanders said he was always a role model to his friends and soldiers.
"He was a man of values, always with a smile on his face and the most professional. He loved the military and his country," his friend Mor Hayoun said. "He was a dear man with such a big heart and endless giving. He loved his soldiers like they were his children."
Moyal was murdered in an attack perpetrated by Fadi Abu Eltaif, 22, from the Bedouin city of Rahat. He was shot and killed on the scene. Another man was also hurt in the incident.
Eltaif was raised in Gaza until the age of 18 when he moved to Israel and settled in the southern city.