The idealistic soldier who saved his men at the last moment
Master Sgt. (res.) Gideon Chay DeRowe OBM, a fighter in the elite Yahalom unit of the Combat Engineering Corps, fell at 33 in an explosive device blast in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. The son of Yael and Ari, he was born Jan. 25, 1991 (10 Shevat 5751) in Tel Aviv. Brother to Yasmin and Yair. Gideon chose to volunteer for a third round of reserve duty, despite living in the Netherlands with his wife. He was killed by an explosive device while saving the lives of his soldiers. He is survived by his wife, daughter, parents, sister and brother.
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His mother, Yael, recalls his birth at the height of the Gulf War. Just two hours after he was born, sirens sounded and he had to be placed in a makeshift protective “tent.” “He was born in the middle of the Gulf War. He began life turbulently, and he left life turbulently,” Yael says. As a child, Gideon was creative, funny and original, with his own language. “He was a funny kid,” his mother recalls. “He had his own world. He invented words. Ari and I would always laugh that he was Israel’s first space cadet. He didn’t even need astronaut school.”
In his childhood, Gideon moved with his family to the community of Sal’it. He attended Ami Asaf High School at Beit Berl, and after graduation decided to pursue a meaningful path. “When he finished school, he was looking to do something very meaningful in life, including in the army,” his father Ari recalls. “He chose a leadership academy that combined study with helping others.” Gideon joined the Negev Leadership Academy in Midreshet Ben-Gurion, where he initiated volunteer work at a nursing home in Yeruham. He also tutored children of Ethiopian descent.
His mother recalls the pride she felt when he chose that path. “I told him, ‘Gideon, you know, if out of those 25 young people even one ends up with a different life, you saved him,’” she says. “I think he had the soul of a social worker. The prisoners and all those projects and the fact that he saw people at eye level. He was a patriot. He was an idealist.” After his discharge from the army, Gideon joined the instructional staff at the Asher Ruach Bo pre-military academy in Mitzpe Ramon, which prepares at-risk youth for combat service. After a year of teaching, he set out on a journey across the United States, kayaking and taking on challenging adventure routes. Following his work at the academy, which included helping teenagers navigate legal proceedings, Gideon chose his professional path. He decided to study law and began his studies at Reichman University. He later completed a master’s degree in diplomacy and security at Tel Aviv University, graduating with honors.
Throughout his studies, Gideon did not give up social engagement and personal contribution. As part of the Street Law Clinic, he volunteered to work with female inmates at Neve Tirza prison. His goal was to make the legal system accessible to them, to assist those on the margins of society. He taught law to inmates as part of his belief that real action is not in an ivory tower but on the ground. At the end of the course, Gideon wrote: “To change policy and social reality, it is not enough to sit in a comfortable classroom under fluorescent lights and debate detached legal theories. We must understand and examine the weak points in Israeli society that require correction and improvement in order to create the exemplary, equal and just society to which we aspire.” Gideon did not shy away from challenges; he ran toward them. During his time at the academy, he often hiked and would run the ascent of Tzin Stream up to Sde Boker. His mother recalls: “He would run the hills of Tzin Stream — anyone who knows, those are serious climbs. He would run with clothes on. He would also run without clothes. When it rained, he would sleep outside in a sleeping bag. He was hardening himself. He worked on strengthening.”
‘He always smiled’
Eliran Moualem, his close friend, recalls their first meeting. “On the ride to the academy, I went to the back seat and met Gideon. The first time I saw him, he was sitting there with a plaid shirt and sunglasses. We started talking. Suddenly, this smiling person appears, he always smiled, asking you questions, and you immediately connect to that persona. That’s what brought us close during the academy period.”
In 2010, Gideon enlisted in the IDF, serving in the Combat Engineering Corps. “When he enlisted, it was most important for him to reach a combat unit. And he did it. The path he went through in Yahalom was tough,” his father says. After completing the course in the elite Yahalom unit, he served as a fighter in the 10th Bomb Disposal Company. In the unit, he was known as a respected, professional, responsible and levelheaded soldier. Among his teammates, he was known as Gidi.
He met his wife, Gabi (Gabriela), who came from the Netherlands, when she arrived for a student exchange program at the Interdisciplinary Center. They overcame the challenges of COVID-19, which separated them, and married in the Netherlands. “He updated us friends only three weeks before he arrived that his wife was pregnant, and we were very happy,” Moualem recalls.
‘I saw things I will never forget’
On Saturday, the 22nd of Tishrei 5784, Simchat Torah, Oct. 7, 2023, at 6:30 a.m., the Hamas terrorist organization launched a surprise attack from the Gaza Strip against Israel. That morning, war began. Gideon was called up for reserve duty that same day. At first, he fought with his unit in Kibbutz Be’eri. On Oct. 13, 2023, he wrote to his family: “Without going into details (even though they are now public knowledge), the massacre carried out in Be’eri reminded me of Holocaust scenes. I saw things I will never forget,” and continued: “We will be at every mission, at any time and place they ask of us, all to protect human life.”
During the war, he took part in numerous operations with determination and self-sacrifice. His teammates said he gave them the feeling that they could always rely on him. His mother explains that he volunteered to serve out of patriotism. “He was an idealist,” she says. “After all, this was reserve duty he volunteered for. He did a first round, a second round and a third round. He was in the Netherlands.” His father recalls conversations with him before the call-up. “Everyone told him he was in the Netherlands, they told him, ‘Why are you coming? You’ve done enough reserve duty, enjoy yourself, you have a pregnant wife.’ And he said, ‘How can I say I’m not coming, when Eldad is getting married in two weeks and he has two children? How can I say I’m not coming? I can’t say that.’”
Moualem remembers conversations with Gideon after the first round. “In a very close friends’ conversation, we put the phones aside and talked about what was weighing on us,” he recalls. “The sights affected him deeply. He did very challenging things. He was exposed to civilians there, to terrorists there. And of course, everything was under fire, under threat.” His mother notes his endless commitment to his soldiers. “He was constantly focused on taking care of the younger soldiers. He felt like a father to them because he was 33,” she says. “They were 19, young soldiers, kids. He constantly felt he had to protect them. And he truly did protect them.” Before his third round of reserve duty, Gideon returned especially to Israel from a family visit in the Netherlands and entered Gaza with his company. On May 22, 2024, he was leading the advance force in Beit Hanoun, scanning buildings and shafts with his team. During the operation, he identified an explosive device, alerted the soldiers with him and ensured they withdrew, thereby saving their lives. Gideon was killed in the explosion.
“The last operation, it was one we didn’t have to go out on,” explains his fellow soldier Eldad Matmon. “That morning, Gideon and I were sitting on a bench, a picnic table in the company area, talking. The operation carried a certain level of risk, we were going to do it. And he said to me very clearly, ‘In the end, we are soldiers. There’s an operation, there’s a mission — and that’s what needs to be done, and that’s what we’ll do.’” Matmon says volunteering and giving were inseparable from Gideon’s character. “Even the fact that he came from abroad, volunteered, led from the front, with professionalism, that’s Gidi in essence,” he says. Moualem stresses that he saved his fellow soldiers. “It’s important to say that he saved lives that evening. He was killed by an explosive device, and in his role, he gave the warning.” Matmon emphasizes that Gideon faced an almost impossible task and succeeded, saving his comrades. “He did something almost impossible to do, I’m telling you this plainly, to identify a device at night,” Matmon says. “He didn’t lose his composure. He told the force, ‘There’s a device here, back.’ The fighters managed to move back, and then the device exploded.”
‘Gideon looks at me through her eyes’
About six months after his death, on Nov. 29, his daughter Talia Sophie was born. “They knock on the door and you understand immediately,” his father recalls. “You know life is about to change. The main concern was Gabi, how she would cope. He left a child.” “It hurts so much that he didn’t get to see her,” his mother says. “Such a sweet girl, whom Gabi is raising wonderfully. She’s curious and has a sense of humor. Sometimes she takes my face in her hands and looks deep into my eyes, and I think Gideon is looking at me through her eyes, that’s how I feel.”
“Gideon was a one-of-a-kind personality,” Moualem says. “He was a rare combination of humor, wit, broad horizons and a unique perspective. If you wanted a special angle on something, you’d talk to Gideon.” His mother emphasizes his humor, which was inseparable from who he was. “I want my granddaughter to see this in 20 years and remember that her father was funny and mischievous. I’ll say something that’s important to every parent whose child was killed: that people remember their child. That’s the most important thing for us. We remember him. But that others remember him. That they know there was a person named Gideon.”
Gideon is commemorated at the Path of Valor memorial for fallen Combat Engineering soldiers at the Hulda Junction. An overnight campground for Israel Trail hikers at Tzin Stream near Sde Boker is named for Gideon DeRowe, honoring his love of nature and simplicity. He is commemorated at the website of the Social Sciences, Management and Education Library at Tel Aviv University, “Reading in Their Footsteps” and on the websites “Memories+” and “Lemale et HaChalal.” The Asher Ruach Bo academy has decided to establish a memorial and lookout in his name in the Ramon Crater.
May his memory be a blessing.
Master Sergeant
Gideon Chay DeRowe OBM