Itzik Shadmi, grandfather of Sergeant first class (res.) Hillel Diener, who was killed in a blast in northern Gaza on Monday, paid tribute to him and spoke about Hillel's strong desire to participate in the war.
"It’s hard to speak about Hillel in the past tense. He was extremely talented, from a family of residents of Judea and Samaria who upheld the commandment of settling the land, which was very important to him. He was very eager to fight, and the fact that he could contribute to the war brought him joy," Shadmi said in an interview with Kan Reshet Bet radio.
He added, "Almost every Friday before Shabbat, he would call us from wherever he was and tell us how pleased he was with 'how they’re crushing' the enemies. It sounded like he was doing something very meaningful, important, and precious for the entire people of Israel and for himself."
"Hillel was about to be discharged soon. He got married in the middle of his service to Zehava, about a year and a half ago. He loved his family very much; they were a special couple," his grandfather concluded.
The funeral for Diener, 21, from Talmon, will take place on Tuesday at 3:15 p.m. at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl.
Alongside Diener, two other soldiers from the Shimshon Battalion of the Kfir Brigade were killed during operational activity in the northern Gaza Strip: Captain Ilay Gavriel Atedgi, 22, from Kiryat Motzkin, and Staff Sergeant Netanel Pessach, 21, from Elazar.