Maj. (res.) Itamar Sapir, 27, was killed Tuesday in a clash with a Hezbollah terrorist in southern Lebanon, the IDF announced.
Sapir, a reserve officer in the Maglan commando unit, is survived by his wife, Roi, their 18-month-old son Maayan, his parents and siblings. He lived in Ariel.
The incident occurred Tuesday morning as Israeli forces operated in the village of Qouzah, north of Ayta ash-Shab, inside the area of the Yellow Line under IDF control. The troops were operating outside a church when the terrorist opened fire at them from inside the building. Additional soldiers were wounded in the incident.
Sapir grew up in the settlement of Eli in the West Bank and studied at the Neve Shmuel yeshiva in Efrat. He enlisted in Maglan in 2019 and completed his regular service after serving as a company commander in the unit. He later served as a company commander in Maglan’s reserve battalion.
“He was the most honest friend I know,” said Meir, a childhood friend. “A happy and opinionated friend with a wonderful family. A friend who, when he wanted something, would invest everything he had to achieve his goal.”
Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz said the community was heartbroken by Sapir’s death.
“All of our hearts are broken by the fall of Maj. Itamar Sapir,” Ganz said. “Itamar grew up in Eli, a community that has already sacrificed many of its finest sons since the start of the war. The community of Eli sends its sons to the front with faith, responsibility and endless devotion, and to our great sorrow, this time its son did not return.
“He is part of a remarkable generation of fighters, a generation that builds a home, raises children, loves life and, in the same breath, stands up without hesitation to defend the State of Israel,” Ganz said.