Hadar Goldin's funeral (file)
Hadar Goldin's funeral (file)Arutz Sheva

IDF officer Lt. Eitan (last name hidden for security purposes), a deputy commander of the Givati brigade, put his life on the line in the fight against Hamas terrorists in Gaza - now he is engaged.

Eitan gained fame during Operation Protective Edge when he crawled into a Hamas tunnel to retrieve the body of IDF officer Hadar Goldin hy''d, which Hamas terrorists were planning to kidnap in order to hold for ransom as they have done with two others.

According to Yisrael Hayom, Eitan will marry his fiancee Hadara in several months.

Eitan is a graduate of the Horev academy in Jerusalem, and the youngest son of a couple who immigrated to Israel from the United States.

Lt. Eitan ran after Goldin - who was presumed abducted - into a Hamas terror tunnel, endangering his life in the process. The move, while technically against IDF protocol, allowed the IDF to determine Goldin's death - and prevent another batch of terrorist releases under the assumption that Goldin is still alive, in the lines of the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal.

The 24-year-old told said in an interview that he ran into the tunnel in total darkness - without a vest, helmet, or rifle. He later turned down a medal offered by the IDF for bravery, saying in an interview that he was “no hero. If not me, someone else would have done it.”

After the conclusion of the fighting, Eitan went to the home of Goldin's parents in Kfar Sava and brought them his tefillin, prayer book, and other personal items.