Father of slain IDF tank commander asks visitors to comfort his young daughter too

Haim Havshush, the father of Sgt. Maj. Noa Havshush, who was killed in the tank disaster in southern Lebanon last Thursday night, described on Monday how his youngest daughter, Nesia, is coping with the loss. In a post on social media, he said the child, who had been quiet for two days and played with visitors, broke down at night, shouting "Nuvali, Nuvali" and reaching her hands upward.

Havshush said that when he asked Nesia where Noa was, she answered with striking clarity for her age: "He was buried in the ground, but his soul is still floating in the sky." He added that she cried and said she was hurt and angry that everyone came to hug him, her mother and her brother Noam, but no one came to hug her.

The girl was also upset that she was not allowed to sit with the family in the front during the funeral, after the family received guidance to do so. Havshush then appealed to mourners visiting during the shiva: "We כמובן ask forgiveness from Nesia, but if you come to visit us during the seven days of mourning, pay attention to her too. Hug her too." He said that although she prefers to play rather than listen to stories, she also carries a huge memory and many hours of time with Noa.

Sgt. Maj. Noa Havshush, 20, from Givat Binimim-Adam, was killed in the deadly tank incident in southern Lebanon on the night between Thursday and Friday. He served as tank commander in the battalion headquarters of Battalion 52 in the 401st Brigade. Also killed in the same incident were Lt. Col. Dor Gadalia Ben Shimon, Battalion 52 commander, Sgt. Maj. Yoav Klein, and Sgt. Maj. Liyav Kababia. Before he was killed, Noa sent his father a message asking him not to tell his mother that he might be released on Sunday, so she would not build up hopes that could be disappointed. Less than an hour later, the explosion occurred. After being notified of his death, Haim wrote that his son had died in Lebanon and urged people to keep traveling and maintain routine as much as possible, saying Noa had fallen so that Israelis could continue living in the country "safely, joyfully and calmly."