Sister’s Grief at Tank Disaster Funeral Leads Family to Ask Visitors to Comfort Her Too

Haim Habshush, the father of Sgt. Nove, who was killed in the tank disaster last Thursday, said Monday morning that his youngest daughter, Nesia, is struggling deeply with the loss. In a Facebook post, he wrote that after two quiet days of playing with visitors, she broke down at night, crying “Novali, Novali” and stretching her hands upward in bed.

He said Nesia understood that Nove was buried, but believes “his soul is still floating in the sky.” Habshush added that she cried and was angry, asking why everyone comes to hug only the parents and their brother Noam, and not her. He also described her distress at the funeral, when she was told not to sit with the family in the front, a recommendation he said may not have fit every situation.

Habshush ended with a request to mourners visiting during the shiva: “Please, if you come to visit us during the seven days of mourning, pay attention to her too. To Nesia. Hug her too. She is grieving with us.” He said that although she is less interested in hearing stories and more interested in playing, she also has “huge memories and countless quality time” with Nove.

At the funeral, Nove’s mother, Einav, said she learned several months ago that she was pregnant. She called it a complete surprise and said that after officers came to the door with the death notice, she 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. Einav said the pregnancy has been difficult, beginning with pain and continuing through days when her heart was shattered, but she vowed to protect the baby and asked Nove to give her strength, help her raise Noam and Nesia, bless the unborn baby, and protect the whole family. She ended with the line, “The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.”