A Month After His Engagement, Maj. Yuval Ezra Was Called Back From Leave and Killed in a Terror Attack

Maj. Yuval Ezra, of blessed memory, 27, a battery commander in Battalion 411 of the Fire Brigade (282) in the Artillery Corps, will be laid to rest tomorrow, Sunday, at the military cemetery in Beit Dagan. He was killed yesterday in a terror attack near the Palestinian village of Tel, after arriving at the scene to help a group of hikers who had come under attack by Palestinians.

Also killed in the attack was Baniah Melet, of blessed memory, a member of the emergency response team of Havat Gilad and a master sergeant in the reserves. The two were shot by a terrorist who managed to seize a weapon from one of the hikers. The terrorist was later killed by IDF soldiers.

In a conversation with Ynet, his parents, Tanya and Haim, spoke about a young officer who always said: "Soldiers are the ones who protect civilians. If someone needs to die first, it should be us." Yuval is survived by his older sister, Daniel, and his brother, Ariel. His mother Tanya said: "Yuval was my youngest. Just yesterday morning I made his favorite food: kuba. Last Tuesday he sent me a message: 'What’s up, Mom? On Shabbat we’d love to come to the pool, if possible with kuba.'"

His father Haim said that last Thursday Yuval had already gone on weekend leave: "He got home, managed to shower and rest a bit, and then they called him back to the sector. It’s always tense there in the sector, and even so we hoped he would still make it home on Friday and that we’d spend time together as planned." Tanya began making kuba for her son yesterday morning anyway, but then he updated her that he most likely would not be able to come. Later, the bitter news arrived.

Yuval recently proposed to his fiancée, Timor Lavi, and the two had set a wedding date for next year: June 9, 2027. "He was planning to build a family and be discharged from the army," his family said in pain.

His parents said their son enlisted nine years ago. After basic training, he went on to a commanders’ course, and throughout his entire service he held command positions. "He loved the army very much, and especially what he did as a commander of soldiers. His bond with the soldiers, and his ability to influence them, help them, and be there for them — that was what he loved as a commander. He loved taking soldiers at the beginning of their path in the army and turning them into fighters, and because of him many went on to command roles and officer training."

His mother Tanya added that six years ago she received a message from the mother of a soldier who had served under her son. "I wanted to say that you raised Yuval magnificently. He is one of the guiding lights in my son’s life, who pushed him and brought him to a higher place. He is going out to officer training," she read the message through tears — but also with pride. "Today that boy is a major in the Artillery Corps."

Yuval completed a bachelor’s degree במסגרת the Tactical Command College. Two years ago, he began serving as a company commander, and this coming September he was supposed to begin a new role as deputy battalion commander. On October 7, he fought in Be’eri, and later entered combat as part of the ground maneuver in Gaza and in other sectors as well.