The officer and soldier killed in the Hezbollah attack on the Lebanese border were named on Wednesday as Cap. Yohai Kalangel, 25 from Har Gilo, a company commander in the Tsavar Battalion and Sgt. Dor Haim Nini of the same battalion, a 20 year old from Shtulim who will be posthumously promoted to the rank of Staff-Sergeant.
Kalangel will be posthumously promoted to major.
Both lost their lives after an anti-tank missiles struck the IDF vehicle they were riding in and another in the same patrol.
Seven other soldiers were lightly-to-moderately injured in the attack and were recovering in hospitals in the North.
Kalangel grew up in the West Bank settlement of Elazar and leaves behind a wife, Tali, and their one-year-old child. He is one of six siblings, and on Independence Day this year he was awarded a General Staff commendation for excellence.
Tamir, Yochai’s brother, told reporters Yochai, or “Joha” as the family knew him “was a giant of a man, salt of the earth, a great fighter.”
On Wednesday night, Aviel Nini, Dor’s brother, said he spoke to Dor on Whatsapp on Tuesday night, after he arrived in the North. Aviel said his brother spoke to his girlfriend at 9:30 a.m. and told her “don’t worry, I’m coming back later today.”
“My little brother is a hero, a fighter who loved the army. He was never afraid of anything, was always smiling,” he added.