Hundreds gathered Friday in the West Bank settlement of Malachei HaShalom for the funeral of 19-year-old David Libi, who was killed Thursday when an explosive device detonated on the engineering vehicle he was operating in the Gaza Strip.
Libi, who worked for a civilian contractor performing engineering work for the IDF, was killed while operating heavy machinery. He will not be recognized as a fallen IDF soldier, but rather as a civilian victim of hostilities.
Among the mourners were Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Missions Minister Orit Strock, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, and MK Simcha Rothman.
“You were born into a war for this land,” David’s father, Eliav, said in his eulogy. He spoke of David’s efforts to join the fighting and revealed that he had personally bought him the tractor in which he was killed. “You wanted to fight in Gaza. You received a military exemption and couldn’t raise your medical profile, but you joined as a civilian operator, and I bought you the machine,” he said.
David’s mother, Sarah, tearfully expressed her regret during the funeral: “I didn’t hug you enough. The siblings who come after you will receive what I didn’t give you.” She added, “There is grace even in this farewell — in knowing you didn’t suffer, and that it wasn’t a military vehicle that hit the explosive, because then more lives would have been lost.”
David’s brother, Shaul, wrote a eulogy but was unable to read it aloud. Their mother read it on his behalf. “My beloved brother, I love you,” Shaul wrote. “You always helped me and loved helping others. You took us on trips. You were a brave brother, the first to enter a narrow alley. You weren’t afraid — and that’s where you fell.”
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David’s grandfather, Rabbi Yaakov Libi, spoke of the special bond he shared with his grandson. He recounted a conversation from two weeks prior. “I asked you if what you were doing wasn’t dangerous. You said, ‘Saba, it’s scary and dangerous, but this is what soldiers and the people of Israel do. I’m not afraid because I say Shema Yisrael every morning.’ Yesterday, you didn’t get to say Shema Yisrael,” the rabbi said.
Malachei HaShalom, which was officially recognized as a settlement only two years ago, does not yet have a cemetery. Following news of David’s death, ministers and Knesset members intervened to arrange for the establishment of a burial site in the community. Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Gantz referenced the effort during his eulogy: “From the moment we heard of your fall, we did everything to bury you here, in the community you loved. Ministers and MKs rallied to make it happen.”
Rabbi Meir Cohen, head of the Dror Pioneers yeshiva where David studied, recalled his former student with admiration. “From the very beginning, I learned from you. You were a man of truth — you never gave up until something was set right.”