Two Soldiers Who Honored Fallen Comrades in Photo Later Killed in Gaza

A poignant photograph taken on the eve of Yom Kippur in 2023, just two weeks before the outbreak of the Iron Swords War, shows three Armored Corps soldiers from the 401st Brigade saluting at the graves of fallen soldiers from the same brigade who died in the Yom Kippur War. Of the three soldiers in the photo, two have since fallen in battles in northern Gaza. Sergeant First Class Itay Saadon, 21, from Har Halutz, who served as a tank commander in the 52nd Battalion, was killed in November 2023. Nearly a year later, in October 2024, his fellow soldier from the same battalion and pictured with him, Sergeant First Class Ofir Berkovich, 20, from Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut, was killed in the same area. The third soldier in the picture, Sergeant Major Gabriel, is the sole survivor.

"It's a chilling coincidence," Gabriel shared in an interview. "The devastating news of Itay's death in the first weeks was incomprehensible. It felt like my world had collapsed. When Ofir also fell, the feeling became even harder." Gabriel offered a message to his fellow soldiers: "No matter where you are, stay open and share your feelings even when it's difficult. That's what helps get through it."

Ofir's parents saw the photograph only during the week of mourning for their son. Baruch, Ofir's father, said his son had mentally prepared for the mission and felt honored to visit the grave of an IDF fallen soldier. His mother, Simona, added, "At first, I couldn't look at the picture. This connection between past, present, and future reflects our fate, we are apparently destined to live by the sword." The Saadon family also had a difficult reaction to the photo. Liatt, Itay's mother, expressed her worry for Gabriel's fate upon seeing he was the only one left. She spoke of the special bond between her son and Ofir, whom her son commanded, noting that they would joke in the company about how they sometimes communicated via notes. She also addressed society's engagement with grief, stating that despite the military context, she sometimes felt a decrease in public attention, stemming from a natural desire to return to routine. However, she expressed confidence that the brigade's soldiers would continue to maintain their connections and visit her son's grave.