The IDF confirmed to the publication today (Sunday) that Staff Sergeant Roi Elias, 21, from Tzofar, a soldier in the 603rd Engineer Battalion, the "Saar Megolan" Brigade (7), fell yesterday in battle in the southern Gaza Strip, in an incident in which an anti-tank missile hit the engineering vehicle in which he was staying.
Meir Tzur, head of the Central Arava Regional Council, said: "A difficult and painful loss for all of us in the Arava. Roi, only 21 years old, a wonderful guy, values, an athlete, very involved in the community, loved the Arava and life in it. I had a personal relationship with him, and we talked a lot about his desire to return to the Arava to build a home and a family and to continue the values of settlement and agriculture, of the legacy of his dear father, Sasson Elias, the central figure in the founding core of the settlement of Tzofar, who is a bereaved brother (Oded Elias, z"l, an officer in the flotilla)."
"A very moving moment, Roy gave me, when he sent me a photo of him at the end of a course, waving the willow flag proudly. Even at this moment, the Arava was important to him and brought us respect. The figure of a son continues to be exemplary, a huge loss. We will always remember him. Condolences to the wonderful Elias family," says Tzur.
His funeral will take place today (Sunday) in the Middle Arava region.
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