Family mourns tank soldier Naveh Habsush after Lebanon battle death

Hundreds accompanied Sgt. Naveh Habsush on Sunday to his burial at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl after he was killed in the tank disaster in southern Lebanon. At the graveside, his father, Haim, said through tears that Naveh was the one who was “last to turn off the light,” adding, “Now I have lost my compass. Please, light the way for us.”

His grandfather, Yehuda Habsush, said the family had feared this day since Naveh joined the armored corps. “In what world does a grandfather bury his grandson?” he asked, quoting Job and saying that God had chosen to include the family in “the sacrifice for the people of Israel and the Land of Israel.” He added that he prayed Naveh would come to him in a dream and tell him he was in a better place.

Naveh’s mother, Einav, told mourners that a few months earlier she discovered she was pregnant at age 46, something the family had not expected. Since the officers came to their door with the news of his death, she said, she has carried new life inside her through the darkness. “When my beloved child, my only son, was taken from me, there is a heartbeat inside me that forces me to get up in the morning and keep living,” she said.

She said the pregnancy has been difficult, but she promised to protect the baby “with all my strength,” calling it a small gift left by her son. Haim then read Naveh’s last message, sent Thursday at 11:15 p.m., in which Naveh asked about a possible leave the following week and said not to tell his mother if it fell through. About an hour later, he was killed with his tank crew. Haim also cited Naveh’s final WhatsApp status, “Do not cry that it is over, smile that it happened,” and said his son did not fall in vain.