Parents of Ofri Yafe: “We Are Not Angry at the Army”

The parents of Ofri Yafe, who was killed overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday in the Gaza Strip, said Wednesday evening that they are “not angry at the army.”

Yafe, 21, from Yogeva in the Jezreel Valley, was a fighter in the elite Paratroopers brigade. He was killed by friendly fire during operational activity in Gaza, and the 925th IDF soldier to fall since the beginning of the war.

Speaking to reporters outside their home, his parents, Hadas and Yiftach, delivered a short statement about their son and the circumstances of his death.

“Our Ofiriki was a magical child, a yellow chick full of light. He devoured life in every single moment, loved his family and his friends from the moshav and from his year of service, and his friends from the reconnaissance unit,” they said.

“He was a child who gave everything of himself and was always the first to volunteer and to give without asking for anything in return.”

The parents stressed that their grief is not directed at the military. “We are not angry at the army,” they said.

“We have no anger at the army - we are angry at the state that places the best of our sons, the finest of the land, in unnecessary and illogical situations after all our hostages returned home.”

According to the IDF’s initial findings, the incident occurred around 3:00 a.m. during activity by Paratroopers Brigade forces in the Khan Younis area. A soldier mistakenly identified another fighter as an immediate threat and opened fire. The army is examining the circumstances of the misidentification and whether procedures were followed.

In the hours after the incident, one of the soldiers involved sent a personal message to the family.

“I ask for your forgiveness and apologize on behalf of myself and my team,” the soldier wrote.

Yafe’s mother responded with a brief reply: “Carry our love.” She also said she does not want harm to come to the soldier involved.

Yafe was the son of Hadas and Yiftach and the brother of Noy, Tzuf, and Itamar. He will be laid to rest on Thursday.