A child of love and giving: Remembering Sgt. Daniel Aviv Haim Sofer
Some people carry a goodness and grace that seem to precede them from the moment they are born. Sgt. Daniel Aviv Haim Sofer was one of them. A battalion communications officer in the Golani Brigade, he was killed when a drone struck soldiers’ living quarters during training in northern Israel on Rosh Hashanah, Oct. 3, 2024. He was just 19, but he left a profound mark on everyone fortunate enough to know him.
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‘My life’: The boy who was impossible not to love
Daniel was born a week before Passover eve, and his brit milah was held during the intermediate days of the holiday. His mother, Jeannette, recalls the deliberation over his name.
“We decided to call him Daniel because I loved the name, Aviv because he was born in the spring and Haim because he was my life,” she says, playing on the Hebrew meaning of haim, “life.” “He was a child you could fall in love with so easily.”
His father, Gideon, smiles as he recalls an unusually considerate baby. “During the Passover Seder itself, he slept the entire evening. It was as if someone had instructed him not to disturb us.”
Daniel’s charm followed him throughout his life. When his mother decided to transfer him to a science school in Ashkelon in third grade, one of his close friends refused to be left behind, telling his own mother that if Daniel was moving schools, he would not study anywhere else. Daniel was sweet and mischievous, a true gentleman who won everyone over with his warmth, charm and kindness.
Seeing the person behind the role
One story that perhaps best captures Daniel’s extraordinary sensitivity dates to when he was 17 and in 11th grade.
His teacher, Sara Avraham, shared a special bond with him that included a regular ritual of handing out Egozi chocolate bars. One day, she noticed Daniel had not come to her class even though he was at school. When she went looking for him, she discovered that he had chosen to sit in another teacher’s classroom who had prepared a special lesson, but almost none of her students had shown up.
“He simply stayed there and told her, ‘Teach. I’m here,’” Sara recalls emotionally. “He didn’t see his teachers only as teachers, but saw the person behind the role.”
Determined to be the best in the IDF, with dreams cut short
When Daniel was assigned to the IDF’s combat communications track, he fell in love with the role. His grandfather suggested that he look for a meaningful position in a rear-echelon unit such as the elite Unit 8200 or at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Daniel answered firmly: “Grandpa, I’m going to be the best battalion communications officer in the IDF.”
He accompanied combat units in the field, displayed a level of professionalism remarkable for his young age and never hesitated to approach senior commanders for advice.
Daniel also had big plans for his future. During a private conversation with his commander, a lieutenant colonel, he spoke about his deep love for his girlfriend, Eti Madar, with whom he had spent a happy year. He told his commander that he wanted to propose to her as soon as he became an officer and asked how he could balance life in a combat unit with married life.
Eti remembers the heart necklace he bought her for Valentine’s Day and the plans for their future together that were already beginning to take shape.
Alongside his dreams with Eti, Daniel was deeply sensitive and devoted to his family. At his military swearing-in ceremony, his family found an original way to tell him that his sister Liraz was pregnant: They hid a pacifier inside a box of chicken nuggets. “When he understood what they were telling him, he wrapped her in a tight hug and burst into tears,” his mother recalls. “He was such a sensitive boy, with such a big heart.”
Loss and a legacy of goodness
At 2:30 a.m., as Daniel and his friends slept in their quarters in northern Israel, a drone penetrated the area and struck their compound. At 6 a.m., a knock on the Sofer family’s door changed their lives forever. “Everything turns upside down. Nothing continues on the same course,” his father says, describing a profound pain he carries with him physically every moment of every day.
Today, Daniel’s family and loved ones are determined to keep his memory alive. A fortified shelter has been dedicated in his name in Ashkelon, and his mother hopes a public square will one day bear his name, allowing his presence and the light he brought into the world to endure.
“This is truly an enormous loss for the country and for the world,” his mother says wistfully. “Because he really was a good kid. A child of love, of giving, of caring.” Daniel is gone, but the light and goodness he spread throughout his 19 years will continue to resonate in the hearts of those who loved him forever.
Sgt. Daniel Aviv Haim Sofer of the Golani Brigade was killed on Rosh Hashanah, Oct. 3, 2024. He was 19.
May his memory be a blessing.
Sergeant
Daniel Aviv Haim Sofer