Meir Tatelbaum, brother of fallen IDF soldier Meir, Sergeant First Class (res.) Yakir Shmuel Tatelbaum, spoke with Arutz Sheva - Israel National News about how the family is coping with their loss.

Yakir fell during action in Gaza, and was laid to rest on Sunday. Speaking with Arutz Sheva, Meir described his brother as "a righteous individual and a true fighter, a good Jew, who performed acts of lovingkindness, loved the nation of Israel, the Torah of Israel, and the Land of Israel."

"He died sanctifying G-d's Name," Meir added. "He was one of those killed for the country, who sacrificed their lives so that we can continue living in the Land of Israel and raising our children. We pray that the people in the Land will awaken and act so that there will not be another situation in which families are forced to bury their loved ones. We can stop it and prevent this, we can attack stronger, defeat, and win in the best way possible, without politics and external factors and the nations of the world who are trying to influence our path. The nation of Israel knows what it wants, and will know to live in the Land of Israel in the path of victory."

"Now I understand what a great merit it was to be Yakir's brother. I knew he was special but I did not understand how much I merited. I did not know how much he was above nature. People are coming and telling us stories that are new to me and that amaze me."

Meir received notice that his brother had fallen during his own reserve duty, very near the Gaza Strip. He recalled: "I received the news on Friday, around candle-lighting, when I was near northern Gaza. A few minutes prior, I had sat with a friend and told him that my brother was not far from us, in Shejaiya. We spoke about him a bit and then I saw the deputy company commander coming and I felt that something had happened. After a short time, the news arrived."

From his and his family's perspective, victory will come when we increase the fighting against the enemy.

"We are standing up and awakening. We need to say the Kaddish prayer, and it is very hard, but the people who comfort us are giving us strength. There will never be a true comfort for us. Yakir, after all, will never again come in the door. The only comfort we have will be in revenge and the defeat of the enemy," he concluded.