Sgt. First Class Alon Kudriashov, 21, from Modi'in, a soldier in the elite Egoz unit of the Commando Brigade who was killed on Friday in Khan Younis in southern Gaza after an RPG missile struck the building where he was stationed, was characterized by his family with one sentence: "Little talk, a lot of action." His funeral will take place on Monday at 4:30 p.m. in Modiin.
When he was born, his parents Kira and Sergey asked his sister Keren to choose his name. "I chose 'Alon' (which means oak) because it is the strongest tree in nature," she says. "That's what he was like. A strong boy, tall and handsome, with a gentle soul, full of kindness and goodness, loving people."
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Alon Kudriashov, 21, from Modi'in, in the last kilometer of his beret journey
(Photo: Courtesy of the family)
His family describes a quiet boy but with a sense of humor and leadership skills, who used to instill calm in those around him. As a teenager, he was determined and excelled in every field he engaged in - from karate, in which he reached the rank of black belt, to diving or any branch of the extreme sports he enjoyed, including the most difficult ski slopes he used to go to with his father.
The two years before enlistment, as a student at Ironi Alef High School in Tel Aviv, he devoted himself to training. He began his military service in the pilots' course and later found his place in the elite Egoz unit of the Commando Brigade. After his release from mandatory service he planned to go on a trip with friends from the military to Thailand and South America.
"Alon came home a week ago for Shabbat and I bought him a backpack as a gift for a trip after the army," Nir Barkin, a neighbor and friend of the fallen soldier's parents, said. "He put the backpack on his back and said: 'The big trip is coming.'"
"In high school he studied computers, but instead of going to the cyber unit he started with the pilots' course and after that he went to Egoz. He never complained, he always had a smile. We worried about him because the Alon we know was someone who always ran ahead,"
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Alon Kudriashov with his parents, Kira and Sergey, after his beret journey
(Photo: Courtesy of the family)
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The family's wall clock stopped at about the same time as Alon died in Gaza
(Photo: Courtesy of the family)
Barkin says that on Friday the wall clock in the family's home stopped at 10:20 a.m. "Kira said that when Alon returns from the army he will fix the clock, and in the end that's the time he fell. The clock stopped and so did their lives," he said.
The incident occurred around 10:00 a.m. on Friday when an RPG was fired by a terrorist and hit the upper floor of the building where the Egoz unit was stationed, in a guard post in the Al-Amal neighborhood in western Khan Younis. As a result of the explosion and the collapse of the walls in the building, 17 soldiers were injured - six severely, five moderately, and five lightly - and Alon was killed.
A complex and swift rescue operation led by Unit 669 and Israeli Air Force rescue helicopters evacuated the wounded to the hospital within 55 minutes of the explosion. The rescue operation was secured by Golani fighters and IAF aircraft that isolated the area. Life-saving surgeries were performed on some of the severely injured soldiers.