Ori Deutsch, whose son Yehonatan was murdered on Sunday in a shooting attack in the Jordan Valley, spoke about his son's special character in an interview with Galei Tzahal radio.
"On October 7th, he fought in Nahal Oz and one of the residents who opened the door for him gave him a medallion with a Star of David which he kept in his pocket throughout the war," the father related.
He also noted that his son was supposed to get married in two months: "He left Rafah in the middle of the war to get engaged to Emuna, and returned the next day."
Yehonatan was released last week from active service in the IDF's elite Maglan Unit and saw intense combat during the first months of the war in Gaza. He was engaged to be married and was on the way to his fiancée's hometown of Ofra when he was gunned down.
Deutsch graduated from the Beit She'an Yeshiva High School, was a counselor in the Bnei Akiva youth movement, and volunteered a good deal in his city. He left behind parents, four brothers, and one sister.
Yehonatan Hy"d (acronym for 'may G-d avenge his blood') will be laid to rest at the Har HaMenuchot Cemetery in Jerusalem on Monday at 2:30 p.m. local time.