Staff Sgt. Roy Sargosti, squad commander, Givati fighter, who fell in a heroic battle against Hamas terrorists in Gaza./IDF Spokesperson
"It is with great sorrow and great pain that we announce the loss of Staff Sgt. Roy Sargosti, squad commander, Givati fighter, from Nahal HaShepherd's Farm, who fell in a heroic battle against Hamas terrorists in Gaza," the Ramat Hanegev Regional Council wrote on its Facebook page, adding that "the Ramat Hanegev community embraces parents Avi and Yaara and sisters Noam and Omer. May his memory be blessed."
Upon publication of his death, many family members and friends came to the Saragosti family home to be with his family during the difficult moments.
His sisters said Roy was "charming, happy and full of joie de vivre. Gentle and sensitive. He was a good friend and a quiet boy and an amazing brother." His sister Omar said she spoke to him last Thursday: "On the first Saturday of the war he was jumped from home to the Golan Heights. In the early morning they reached the south. They entered the village of Gaza and saw horrors there, and then began training for the entrance. We got to see him several times in his staging area. He was optimistic and happy, but beneath the joy you could see that he experienced difficult things during the first days of the fighting, but we didn't talk about it."
"He was optimistic, and a few days before the fighting, they took their APC in favor of another force and said they might not enter this round. "We tried to ask him gently about what he saw in the village of Gaza, but it's a wound they don't want to open before a ground incursion. I asked him and he smiled and nodded and didn't elaborate. In his body movements he had a smile of 'It was hard. I've had difficult experiences, but this is not the time to open it up."
Omar continued: "I couldn't tell him to 'take care of yourself' because of the small chance that I would say it and he wouldn't take care of himself."
- More on the subject:
- Gaza War
- Iron Sword War
- Givati