The family of Staff Sgt. Ori Greenberg, the Golani Brigade commando killed overnight in southern Lebanon, remembered him Thursday as a determined young soldier, a devoted brother and uncle and a person who pushed himself to excel.
Greenberg, 21, from Petah Tikva, was killed in a close-range clash with Hezbollah terrorists while serving in the Golani reconnaissance unit, the IDF said. He was to be buried at 4 p.m. Thursday at Har HaMenuchot Cemetery in Jerusalem.
“At 6 a.m. they came to tell us,” his younger sister, Noa, said. “My mother screamed. We never thought something like this could happen. Our world turned upside down.”
His father, Yaron, said his son approached challenges with determination and a strong sense of purpose. “Ori was a boy who overcame all his obstacles and all his fears,” his father said. “He always pushed himself forward with determination, with love, with a good heart, and that is also how he met his death, as they told us, charging at the front.”
Yaron said his son had been due to complete his military service in about two months and was expected to leave afterward on an educational mission to the United States through the Jewish Agency, working with teenagers.
“He had an outstanding path,” his father said. “I have the great privilege of being the father of such a son, a great pride. He was simply a hero. He was a boy who never gave up on himself anywhere. He excelled in his team, he went to commanders’ training, he was a sergeant, and he excelled as a sergeant.”
His sister Noa said he had been a role model for her for as long as she could remember. “From age zero, he was my hero,” she said. “Not just now, after he fell — he was always my hero. He was always there for me. In everything he did, he was always the best in the world. In school, he received a certificate of excellence, he completed the Golani reconnaissance track with distinction, and even now in his death. He was simply a hero. I want everyone to know there is no soul as pure as his, no people like that. He was such a special person.”
Another sister, Shir, said he was also a loving uncle to her two young sons. “He was Uncle to Omer and Adam, my children,” she said. “He would read them stories, lift them up high, and loved playing with them. They love him so much.”
According to the military, troops from the Golani reconnaissance unit identified terrorists in their sector of operations at about 2:10 a.m. A face-to-face firefight followed, during which Greenberg was killed. Another soldier was wounded in the exchange but did not require evacuation.
The military said forces killed some of the terrorists and were continuing to search for others.
Petah Tikva Mayor Rami Greenberg mourned the soldier as one of the city’s finest sons. “Ori was among the best of Petah Tikva’s sons, a brave soldier in regular service who went out to protect us all and did not return,” the mayor said in a statement. “The entire city bows its head and unites in his memory.”
He extended condolences to the family and to the community of Adar School, where Greenberg had studied. “We will always remember him with pride and gratitude,” the mayor said.