Three armored fighters from the 53rd Battalion were killed yesterday (Monday) in battle in the northern Gaza Strip: Capt. Eitan Fish, 23, from Pedu'el in Samaria, Sergeant Yakir Yedidia Shinkolevsky, 21, from the religious kibbutz Migdal Oz in Gush Etzion, and Staff Sergeant Tuval Yaakov Sanani, 20, from Kiryat Gat.
Eitan Fish and Yakir Yedidya Shinkolevsky studied at the Seder Yeshiva in Yeruham. Fish studied for two years over Shinkolevsky and the two met and were happy when they met during military service, when Shinkolevsky became a claimant on Fish's tank crew.
Yona Goodman, Shinkolevsky's uncle, who lives in Pedu'el, next door to the Fish family, told Israel Hayom that in the morning Chaya, Eitan's mother, called him and asked for the phone of his sister, Yakir's mother. She then called her and the mother of the third martyr, Tuval Yaakov Tzanani, to comfort them. "A grieving mother, whose son has not yet been buried, and what concerns her is to call and comfort other grieving mothers. This is our people, the people of Israel live," Goodman said.
162nd Division fighters operating in the Jabaliya area | IDF Spokesperson
Capt. Eitan Fish grew up in the community of Pedu'el, the fourth of eight children. He is the nephew of Ido Sölden, who was murdered in a shooting attack 16 years ago. His acquaintances say that he was a talented musician and piano player, a gifted painter, a man with rare human relations who knew how to be sensitive and attentive to his surroundings and tough when he had to fight for the country he loved so much. He is survived by his parents and seven siblings.
His family said of him: "Eitan, a child, a gentle and sensitive brother and uncle, wise and sociable, a talented artist and a great soul, a professional and determined officer and commander. He went out to defend his people, his country and his country. In the unity of Israel, in building the land and in victory over our enemies, we will be comforted. May his memory be blessed." Head of the Samaria Council, Yossi Dagan: "Eitan was the glory of Samaria's youth, always a volunteer in every respect, a hero and this is how we will remember him. Future generations in Samaria will be educated in light of his character, life and heroism. Our hearts are broken with his passing at such a young age."
His parents last saw Yadidya Shinkolevsky on Wednesday, when he went out for a brief refreshment. They met in Arad and made plans for the future, but never imagined that they would be cruelly cut off in a single moment. "Dear as its name implies. Cute, dear, interested in everything and brilliant, diligent and hardworking. In high school, he did five units of physics just on the road, so he would be. Completed his course in the army with honors. We are very grateful to the army and the yeshiva that really matured him," said his uncle, Yona Goodman.
Yakir was the fourth of five children, always with a shy smile on his face. "My great-grandfather and grandmother were murdered in a pogrom in Ukraine and have no grave. My nephew fell as a fighter in the turret of a tank, against our enemies, and in a certain sense it gives meaning to the pain, gives meaning to the crazy journey we are all experiencing and gives some strength to deal with the pain," the uncle added.
Gush Etzion Mayor Shlomo Ne'eman eulogized him: "Dear friend, you fell in the war for our right to live in this land and build the future of the nation there. A kibbutz member, a member of a dear family of Migdal Oz veterans. Gush Etzion is hurting today with the Shinkolevsky family. Your pain is also the national pain of the entire community. We are accompanying the Shinkolevsky family at this difficult time." Yakir's funeral will take place at 14:00 in Kfar Etzion. No date has yet been set for Ethan Fish's funeral.
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