Avi Rosenfeld, father of Sergeant Yisrael Natan Rosenfeld, a 20-year-old from Ra’anana who was killed yesterday in an explosive device blast in Gaza, spoke on Monday morning about his son's deep sense of mission throughout his short life.
In an interview with Kan Reshet Bet, Rosenfeld shared that Yisrael Natan made aliyah from England with his family at the age of seven. From a young age, he knew he that wanted to enlist in the IDF. He served in the Combat Engineering Corps, dreamed of completing the squad commanders’ course, and took great pride in his unit.
“He was highly motivated, like his grandfather who survived a concentration camp and was am ardent Zionist. He understood the importance of serving in the IDF for the sake of his country. We are a very small nation with only one country,” his father described.
Yisrael Natan rarely shared what he was going through in Gaza with his parents. “He was modest,” his father said. When he came home, he was always surrounded by friends. “He was in ‘full speed’—constantly out with friends.”
For months, Yisrael Natan served in Gaza, while both his parents were immensely concerned about his safety. “We worried about him all the time - how can you not worry when your child is in danger? But we trusted the army. It didn’t help; in the end, there’s another plan we don’t understand. We’re only human. The memory my wife and I hold onto is his kisses and hugs. He was a fun, good kid. There was nothing bad in him,” he concluded.
Sergeant Rosenfeld fell during an operation yesterday as part of the 162nd Division’s assault in Jabaliya, aimed at securing additional territory in northern Gaza and the Gaza City area.
An initial IDF investigation found that an explosive device was remotely detonated against an engineering force from Battalion 601 of the 401st Brigade, as soldiers dismounted from an armored personnel carrier and prepared to search a building.