The IDF spokesperson stated that Staff Sergeant Noam Douek, 20, from Kiryat Motzkin, a soldier in the 9th Battalion of the 401st Armored Corps Brigade, was killed on Thursday in Rafah.
It is suspected that Douek inhaled toxic gases emitted from a generator. Two other soldiers were seriously injured in the same incident. The soldiers have been evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment, and their families have been notified.
"I'm not mad at anyone. It won't bring him back to me. I'm not mad at the soldier who made a mistake there. The soldier must have connected the generator incorrectly. I'm not looking for culprits and I forgive everyone. My son loved his friends and that's how it will stay. They told me there was an investigation and I said that the results would not bring him back. I am not angry with anyone," said Douek's father. "We donated Noam's corneas so that others may see through it. He was a child of light and joy, a good-spirited child and he will continue to bring light to someone else. We are very proud of him and his legacy."
Noam is the son of Osnat and Shelly, and a brother to Dor, 29, and Raz, 25. He graduated high school in ORT Kiryat Motzkin. He enlisted in the Armored Corps and loved his unit and his friends, his family members said. "At first Noam didn't want to go to his unit, but after he got to the recruiting office, he met two of his friends who received their summons for the unit and he agreed to go there. He just loved the army," his father told Ynet.
Staff Sergeant Noam Douek in Gaza
October 27, when Noam entered Gaza, was his mother's birthday. "Noam sent me a message that day, 'Father, it's time.' Since then he has been going in and out all the time," according to his father. Five months ago, Noam dislocated his shoulder after his tank was hit during the war. His parents say that Noam was in rehabilitation for about four months. "Every day he wanted to go back to his friends and be with them," said his father.
"After he returned, they enrolled him in a communications course. The course ended on Thursday. They sent him home for the night and asked him to report back and enter Gaza on Friday. He arrived home and, in retrospect, that was his last night at home. The last night we got to see him and hug him," according to his father.
Shelly said that he was worried about Noam's safety during the past week. "It's a father's feeling. I kept sending him messages, 'Is everything okay?' When he could, he answered, and when he couldn't, he didn't. I knew they were inside. Tonight, at 3:30 a.m, he sent a message to his brother Raz: 'Everything is fine'. At 6:30 a.m., he was dead."
"In the morning," Shelly added, "I was at a friend's store. Suddenly my wife came to the store with army personnel beside her. I immediately understood that we had lost Noam. I was so worried. I was under a lot of pressure and, unfortunately, the worst thing happened."
Haim Halfon, a close friend of Noam's father, who knew Noam since the day he was born, said with great sadness: "Noam was an amazing child. Ever since he was little, he smiled. He was quiet and calm, always with light in his eyes. With positive energy. He loved the army. He was one of those soldiers who was happy to stay the weekend on the base to be with the guys, he loved his friends very much."
This is the second incident this week in which an IDF soldier died in a non-operational incident in Rafah in the 401st Armored Brigade. On Monday, Lieutenant Mordechai Kadmon, 23, from Nof Ayalon, was killed by a grenade, outside of operational activity. The IDF said that the military police opened an investigation into the circumstances of the incident, and will send its findings to the Military Prosecutor's Office for examination.
Rabbi Yitzhak Kadmon, Mordechai's father, said this week: "On one hand, he was a heroic warrior, a combat officer leading his soldiers on the battlefield. On the other hand, at home, he was a loving and beloved son, organizing everything and always helping."