{"id":23629,"date":"2025-05-20T10:12:37","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T07:12:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/?p=23629"},"modified":"2025-05-20T17:15:27","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T14:15:27","slug":"israel-mourns-sgt-yosef-yehuda-hirak-fallen-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/israel-mourns-sgt-yosef-yehuda-hirak-fallen-hero\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel Mourns Sgt. Yosef Yehuda Hirak, Fallen Hero"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>GAZA STRIP \/ JERUSALEM \u2013 <\/strong>The death of Sgt. Yosef Yehuda Hirak, a 22-year-old soldier from Moshav Harasha, sparked a nationwide wave of mourning Tuesday as leaders, settlers, community members, and citizens came together to honor the young warrior whose life and bravery were cut short in northern Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>Hirak, a recently married combat soldier in the IDF\u2019s 401st Armored Brigade, was killed in battle as part of Operation Gideon&#8217;s Chariots. He is the first Israeli soldier to fall in the current phase of the campaign. His funeral will be held today at 11:30 AM at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Newlywed and Warrior<\/strong><br \/>\nYosef, a member of Battalion 601, leaves behind his wife Emunah\u2014whom he married only seven months ago\u2014his parents, and three sisters.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_23631\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-23631\" style=\"width: 855px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-23631\" src=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/hirak-2.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"855\" height=\"570\" srcset=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/hirak-2.webp 1600w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/hirak-2-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/hirak-2-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/hirak-2-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/hirak-2-1536x1024.webp 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 855px) 100vw, 855px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-23631\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">IDF troops operating in Gaza during Operation Chariots of Gideon | Photo: IDF Spokesperson\u2019s Unit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Finance Minister Smotrich: \u201cFrom Grief, We Rebuild\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nFinance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionist Party and a longtime associate of Hirak\u2019s father-in-law, Yehuda Eliyahu, wrote: \u201cMy heartfelt condolences to my friend and partner of over 25 years, Yehuda Eliyahu, on the loss of his son-in-law, Yosef Yehuda Hirak. His sacrifice, like that of many others, strengthens our responsibility\u2014to achieve victory, destroy Hamas, restore Israel\u2019s honor and security, and bring the hostages home. In building the land, we shall find comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Defense Minister Israel Katz: \u201cWe Will Continue for Him\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cI received the news with deep sorrow. Yosef was newly married. I embrace his family in their most painful hour. For him, we will continue in our commitment to bring back the hostages and dismantle the terror regime in Gaza,\u201d wrote Defense Minister Katz.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Local Leaders, National Pain<\/strong><br \/>\nIsrael Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, said: \u201cOnly months ago, we danced together at Yosef\u2019s wedding. Now we mourn his death. He and Emunah built a home of devotion\u2014and in the ultimate act of sacrifice, it was fulfilled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The council confirmed that its support teams are providing emotional and practical assistance to the family and community. Deputy Jerusalem Mayor Aryeh King eulogized Hirak as: \u201cA defender of Jerusalem, following in the footsteps of the ancient protectors of the City of David.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Voices from Across Israel<\/strong><br \/>\nHanoch Daum, Israeli journalist and author, captured the raw emotion: \u201cJust look. This is a loss beyond words.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yoseph Haddad, Arab-Israeli social activist and IDF veteran, wrote: \u201cSo much pain. Just months ago, he got married. The big smile in the photo says everything.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Public figures and citizens across the political and social spectrum pay tribute to the 22-year-old soldier killed in northern Gaza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":23630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,88,6],"tags":[1749,5179,1475,5799],"class_list":["post-23629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-idf","category-will-remember","category-security","tag-fallen-soldiers","tag-gideons-chariots","tag-idf","tag-yosef-yehuda-hirak"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.7 (Yoast SEO v24.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Israel Mourns Sgt. 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