Major Shahar Netanel Bozaglo, who fell in battle in the northern Gaza Strip during the Rosh Hashana holiday, was laid to rest on Thursday at the Migdal Haemek cemetery. Hundreds attended the ceremony to pay their final respects.
Bozaglo, aged 27, was critically wounded when an RPG struck his tank during operational activity and later succumbed to his wounds in the hospital.
Adi, the fallen's wife, eulogized him over his open grave and opened by reading a note she wrote for Shahar in honor of the New Year, which he did not get to read: "My love, a few days have passed, but the longing is already strong. I hope you have high morale and you aren't tired. I wish you a good and sweet year. May the year begin with its blessings. May the positive things from the past years continue into the next. I wish for us that next year we will celebrate first of all surrounded by loved ones. Return to us quickly, healthy and safe."
She continued to lament: "My Shahar is the smartest man in the world. He knows statistics as well as mishna, and leads study groups in Maimonides, and was never in the Aroma coffee shop. He took me there on our first date and was excited to drink hot chocolate with marshmallows. You were the flavor in my life. We learned to enjoy life's pleasures. In the past months, we moved to Bat Galim. Eight years of creating a world. We became one. How can I sum them up? There are no words to describe what you were for me. You touched so many people. It tears the heart that someone managed to separate us.
"You left me a great gift, the greatest in life. We managed to become pregnant, and today I am carrying your son—our greatest dream. You couldn't leave me without leaving me with something. You gave my life meaning in your life and your death. I am sad that I won't get to see you as a father and that our son won't be raised on your lap. My life's mission will be to raise him in your path."
Osnat, Shahar's mother, eulogized: "My boy, you always knew how to say the right thing, sensitively so that everyone would understand. I never stopped telling you that I'm proud of you, and I'm overcome with pride when I see the husband and brother you have become.
"I had a big and unified family, and I was whole. You were so special. How you touched everyone. The family circle is missing. We will rise up, and we will protect Adi and the boy who will come just as you would have wanted. We will not stop loving them."