'The best of the best,' remembering fallen soldier Eyal Avnion

Major (res.) Eyal Avnion, 25, from Hod HaSharon, from the 121st Battalion, 8th Brigade, fell in combat in the central Gaza Strip, the IDF said on Tuesday.

Friends of fallen IDF soldier Eyal Avnion expressed their sadness and condolences on social media following the IDF announcement.

Avnion was a passionate soccer player and member of Tel Aviv's Hapoel soccer club. The club wrote on Facebook that it shares in the family's loss and mourns Avnion's death. In their post, the club stressed that Avnion had been part of the club for the past five years and adored the team "with every fiber of his being."

Amir Kochavi, Mayor of Hod Hasharon,  Avnion's city of residence, also shared his condolences with Avnion's family. In his post on Facebook, Kochavi wrote that Avnion volunteered to carry out further duties during the war, "Out of a sense of responsibility and a desire to contribute, he led the platoon in the event in which he was killed."

Kochavi further stated that "everyone's heart is shattered" by the news and invited the Israeli public to honor Avnion in a final farewell along Jabotinsky Street on the way the cemetery.

Friends mourn the loss

Kineret Elisha Cohen, another of Avnion's friends, posted on Facebook, emphasizing that Avnion was "the best of the best." Cohen further expressed her pain at his death and vowed to remember him forever, saying, "In our hearts, we cry and ache, saluting and thanking you for what you did for us, for the routine you enabled us to maintain, and for who you were. You will forever be preserved in our hearts."

An additional acquaintance, Yuval Segev, wrote on X, formerly Twitter of the difficulty in accepting his friend's loss, "You were so alive it's hard to believe you're dead. The funniest, the handsomest, a partner in some of the craziest nights in my life and also in some of the deepest conversations."

אבניאון, היית כל כך חי שאי אפשר להאמין שאתה מת. הכי מצחיק, הכי חתיך, שותף לכמה מהלילות הכי דפוקים בחיים שלי וגם לכמה מהשיחות הכי עמוקות. דיברנו לפני 3 שבועות, רצית לחשוב ביחד איך הופכים את המדינה הזאת לטובה יותר. מה אפשר לעשות. שיתפת בקשיים של המילואים הבלתי נגמרים, לצד ההבנה של… pic.twitter.com/EaHCA8hadq

— יובל שגב | Yuval Segev (@Segev_Yuval) July 2, 2024

Segev also shared how important the country was for his friend, writing "You wanted to think together how to make this country better. What we could do. You shared in the difficulties of the never-ending reserve duty, alongside the understanding of the need and importance," in serving.