On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces announced the tragic death of Gal Meir Eisenkot, son of Israeli government minister Gadi Eisenkot, in the northern Gaza Strip. The 25-year-old combat soldier, a master sergeant in the 699th Battalion of the 551st reserve commando Brigade, was killed in battle.
His father, Gadi Eisenkot, is a former chief of the General Staff of the IDF and has served in the military for four decades. He joined the wartime cabinet as a minister without portfolio after the October 7 attacks and is a member of Benny Gantz’s National Unity Party.
Gal Meir Eisenkot is one of 88 IDF soldiers who have been killed in Gaza since October 7. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz expressed their condolences and paid tribute to the fallen soldier.
Netanyahu posted on Twitter, “The government of Israel and the citizens of Israel mourn together with you. Our heroes did not fall in vain. We will continue to fight until victory,” while Gantz said, “May the memory of Gal and the memory of all those who fell in the battle for the home of all of us be blessed. Also in his name, also in their name, we continue the mission.”
This tragic news brings further sorrow to the ongoing conflict in the region, with no immediate end in sight.