2 Israeli reserve soldiers killed in northern fighting

Father-of-six fell in battle in southern Lebanon; reservist killed by Hezbollah missile in northern Israel.

By World Israel News Staff

Two Israeli reservists were killed on Tuesday along the northern front, the IDF announced in a press statement.

Major Rabbi Aviram Hariv, 43, of Dolev, and Master Sergeant Saar Eliad Navarsky, 27, from Tel Aviv were killed in separate incidents in Lebanon and northern Israel.

Hariv fell in battle in southern Lebanon, while Navarsky was killed by a direct hit from a Hezbollah missile in northern Israel’s Hula Valley.

A father of six, Hariv was the Deputy Commander of the 9308th Battalion’s 228th Alon Brigade.

He is survived by his wife, Ayelet, and their children Achinoam, 18, Ziv, 15, Shahar, 11, Ori, 9, Amit, 7, and Ivri, 4.

He served as the rabbi of a religious girls’ school in his hometown of Dolev, in Judea and Samaria.

“The people of Israel lost a great educator who took the values he taught to the battlefield,” said Binyamin Regional Council Head Israel Ganz.

Hariv was “a man of the book and sword. We embrace his dear wife Ayelet and his six beloved children. Rabbi Aviram leaves us with a great loss and a great legacy – to continue the victory for Israel’s resurrection.”

Navarsky, who served in the 508th Battalion of the 7338th Adirim Brigade, was a free-spirited, unconventional man, according to his friends and family.

He is survived by his mother, Sapir, sister Shoval, and girlfriend Sol. Navarsky’s father died several years ago.

“He was a vegan and his dream was to buy a caravan, travel around, and wake up each morning to a different view,” his mother told Hebrew-language outlet Ynet.

“He was always smiling, never angry. The last time I saw him was three weeks ago, at his favorite cousin’s wedding in Jaffa.”

A nature lover, Navarsky wrote to a friend shortly before he was killed that he was enjoying the greenery of southern Lebanon.

“It’s scary here but I’m not letting the fear control me,” he said in a message.

“I’m thinking positively and hoping for the best.”

Also on Tuesday, Staff Sergeant Yishai Mann was killed in a military-related traffic accident in southern Israel, near Gaza.

Mann, from Mitzpe Yericho, was 21 years old.

fallen IDF soldierfallen IDF soldiersHezbollahIDFIDF casualtiesIsrael-Lebanon borderThird Lebanon war