The first IDF soldier who has given his life for his country in Operation Cast Lead was identified Tuesday morning as 38-year-old First Staff Sergeant Lutfi Nasraldin. The soldier, a resident of the western Galilee Druze village of Dalyat el-Carmel, was killed when Gaza terrorists shelled his base near the Nahal Oz Crossing on Monday night. A second soldier was severely wounded in the attack.
Nasraldin was named after an uncle who was killed in action in the Jordan Valley a year before he was born. His grandfather, Amal Nasraldin, served as a Member of Knesset for the Likud party from 1977 to 1988.
Four other soldiers sustained light injuries in the attack, which struck a military base in the western Negev.The soldiers received emergency medical aid at the scene before being evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva.
The funeral for First Staff Sgt. Nasraldin will take place Tuesday afternoon at the cemetery in Dalyat el-Carmel.