Captain Sodki Daxa, the brother of 401st Brigade Commander Colonel Ehsan Daxa who was killed in an explosion in Jabaliya spoke to Radio 103-FM about his brother's special character.
"We part from Ehsan the man, modest, simple, who searched for peace but fought a brutal enemy, who wanted to let everyone feel good but they didn't let him continue. As far as everyone's concerned he's a hero, he was a gentleman in the full sense of the word," he said sadly.
He added: "Ehsan settled for little. He would look for the simple things, modest ones. He was always the first on the battlefield and that's the reason he died there. The force ran over an explosive while moving on foot and Ehsan was always first, therefore he was hit by all the force and died on site."
Daxa spoke about the close relationship between him and his brother. "He was the brother who I spoke with almost every day. Although he didn't have time, he always somehow found the time, not only for me. He would always respond with a smile, with warm words. To me, my other brother, and two sisters he was everything. We feel like everything's falling apart. I can't explain it, he really was everything to us. He was so simple, so humble, so cute. I believed he would never die."
Ehsan's predecessor as the 401st Brigade Commander, Colonel Benny Aharon, said in an interview with Kan Reshet Bet: "I'm so proud of Ehsan. I was so happy that he came to command over the brigade. He always marched in front. In every action he led, including in Tel Sultan, he said 'Let's go in, there are hostages here, there are [Hamas] officials here.' He pushed for it, not just in theory, he gave confidence and was the first on the field. He knew how to lead operations better, he had amazing bravery and an ability to lead the situation, always."
Regarding the brigade's condition after losing its commander, Aharon stated: "The brigade is the tip of the arrow and it can't let itself stop. If it won't function it will affect the future."
According to him "there's no shame in saying that there are long minutes and hours of crisis. People are shocked, but they are trained and very experienced after a year of war. It's a huge difficulty to lose a battalion commander. But you have to keep galloping forward. They will return to battle very quickly."
Aharon, who today serves as the replacement for the deputy commander of the 162nd Division, added: "In war, the brigade commander commands various types of forces. The brigade commander must walk on foot with his men. You can't see the battlefield from a screen or a drone. It's part of our leadership method and professional world. Ehsan was even more extreme with it. He always wanted to walk ahead. He was braver and wanted to take things forward."