Itongadol.- First Sgt. Shahar Shalev, the final IDF casualty of Operation Protective Edge, was laid to rest in the Golan moshav of Haspin on Monday afternoon. Injured in southern Gaza on July 23, he succumbed to his wounds on Sunday. A paratrooper, he hailed from Moshav Alonei Habashan. His death the toll from Operation Protective Edge on the Israeli side to 72, with 65 of them soldiers. He is survived by his parents and six siblings.
Thousands attended his funeral, where his mother read aloud a letter written by his younger brother who called him a “hero.”
“God wanted him above and so it was,” his father Shimon told Israeli media. “Shahar loved what he did, his officers told us.”
Speaking with Army Radio, Shimon Shalev said that his family had lived “between hope and despair” since Shahar was injured. To our sorrow, God decided that Shahar had completed his job here on earth and he wanted him in heaven.”