Captain Noam Ravid, 23, from Sha’arei Tikva, and Staff Sergeant Yaly Seror, 20, from Omer—both servicemen in the elite Yahalom Unit of the Combat Engineering Corps—were killed Saturday by an explosion inside a tunnel shaft in Rafah. They will be laid to rest later on Sunday, as their families and communities mourn the devastating loss.
Daniel, Yaly Seror’s cousin, said: “He was the youngest in the family. Both of his brothers also fought in Gaza—this was more than just a blood bond.”
Seror’s relatives described him as a beloved and exceptional young man. “Yaly was special,” said his cousin Daniel Karai. “He was one of those people where any words fall short. Always smiling, never complaining, deeply respectful of everyone around him, and always ready to help—even without being asked.”
She added: “He was the youngest in the family, the crown jewel, their whole world. He was always the first to step up—and it was the same in the incident that took his life.” He is survived by his parents and two brothers, both of whom have also served in Gaza. “He was very close to them. It was more than just a familial connection—three warrior brothers going in and out of Gaza since October 7,” she said. “Yaly loved the army and dreamed of reaching the position he held. Wherever he went, you could feel his light.”
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Yaly was a native of Omer in southern Israel. Erez Badash, the head of the Omer local council, said: “Our hearts are broken. The entire town of Omer is mourning the loss of a boy who was pure light. Yaly was the kind of person you meet once and immediately fall in love with—a big smile, a huge heart, a friend to everyone.” Badash added that his daughter Roni and her friends knew Yaly well and spoke of his kindness and the positive energy he brought everywhere he went. “The Seror family’s pain is all of ours,” he said.
The town of Sha’arei Tikva announced the death of Captain Noam Ravid, “a son of the community and of Shlomit and Erez, who fell heroically in battle in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, over the weekend.”
Community members said Ravid was a beloved youth counselor in the local Bnei Akiva chapter. “Our hearts are with the Ravid and Na’amat families in the wake of this devastating news,” read a statement. “The local council teams are standing by the family and providing all necessary support.”
Council head Avi Roeh eulogized Ravid: “Noam was one of our best. He fought with courage in the war to defend our people and our land. He fell heroically in battle in Rafah.”
“The entire council bows its head and shares in the family’s deep grief,” the statement concluded.