“Live life”: Mark Kononovich defended his country until his last breath
Mark was born in Russia and immigrated to Israel at age 10. He grew up and was educated in Karmiel, and his military service in the Givati Brigade shaped him into a consummate fighter.
His wife, Orel, describes him as an imposing figure. “He loved fighting, he loved working out. He was 6-foot-3, huge, all bulked up.”
1 / 5
His friend, Avraham David Gerzhotis, recalls the striking contrast between Mark’s imposing appearance and his tender side. “He’d be fully geared up with his weapon, vest and helmet, looking every inch the professional soldier. Then suddenly you’d see him talking to his kids on the phone and he’d turn into a ballerina, so full of love and longing for his family.”
“You’ll be my wife and we’ll have four children”
The love story of Mark and Orel sounds almost too remarkable to be true. They met in Eilat in 2011, and from the very beginning Mark seemed to know exactly what their future held. “From the first day he saw me, he never left my side,” Orel says. “He told me, ‘You’re going to be my wife and we’re going to have four children.’ He predicted the future. He even got it right that we’d have two boys and two girls.”
Just one week before the Black Saturday of Oct. 7, their fourth child, a daughter named Noya, was born. Mark’s vision had come true — just before the war turned their lives upside down.
Oct. 7: The fighter in him awakened immediately
On Oct. 6, his birthday, Mark celebrated with his family. The next morning, as sirens sounded with the outbreak of the Hamas-led attack, the fighter in him immediately came to the fore. “I could see the fire burning inside him, that feeling of a fighter awakening and wanting revenge,” Orel recalls.
During his reserve service, Mark became a pillar of his company. He was not “just another soldier,” but someone who drove others forward and took charge.
A friend’s instinct and a final goodbye
One particularly chilling story comes from Mark’s friend A., whom Mark sent home shortly before the disaster. “Mark sensed something in me,” he says. “He told me, ‘You’re going home now.’ It was as if something had taken hold of him, as if he knew something I didn’t.”
In their final conversation, displaying what his friends jokingly described as his characteristic “British” manners, Mark asked him to bring him a fleece jacket because he was cold.
A few days later, while that friend was at a playground with his daughters, he suddenly felt a paralyzing chill run through his body and sent Mark one final message: “Are you alive? Are you still alive?” No reply ever came.
“Live life”: Mark’s legacy
Mark was killed in Gaza when a building collapsed on the soldiers. His friends describe moments of despair as they shouted the names of those trapped beneath the rubble, hoping for a miracle that never came.
After his death, Mark’s tattoos, some of which he had dedicated to friends he had lost in the past, became symbols of remembrance in their own right. “The idea is to live life. Whether it’s hard or not, live,” his friends say of the way he chose to live.
Orel captures the depth of their loss: “We don’t just remember him. We live with his presence every day. He remains an inseparable part of us.”
Mark Kononovich died as he lived: a giant of a man with a heart of gold, defending his family and his country until his last breath.
Sgt. Major (res.) Mark Kononovich of the 261st Brigade was killed on Jan. 22, 2024. He was 35.
May his memory be a blessing.
Sergeant Major
Mark Kononovich