Reservists Ido Aviv, 28, and Kalkidan Meharim, 37, were tragically killed in combat during clashes in Gaza.
By Vered Weiss
Reserve Sergeant Majors Ido Aviv, 28 and Kalkidan Meharim, 37 fell in battle in Gaza on Monday.
Another soldier was seriously wounded and taken to the hospital for treatment.
Ido Aviv was a resident of Carmiel and a soldier in Battalion 9232
Aviv, was an avid surfer “who lived and breathed the sea” and prepared a summer surfing program for kids before he went on reserve duty.
Gil Horvitz, owner of the surfing center “Surf Cycle” said Ido Aviv was his “right-hand man.”
Horvitz added, “Ido guided thousands of people in his life and every person he guided, he touched his heart.”
He added, “Ido was always smiling, always positive. He knew how to accommodate everyone.”
The Surf Cycle owner recounted an exchange shortly before he went on reserves to Gaza on Saturday.
Horvitz recalls that Ido said, “‘It will be fine, wherever I go is always quiet’. I told him, ‘Don’t say that.’”
Kalkidan Meharim emigrated from Ethiopia to Israel, was a resident of Petach Tikva and a soldier in Battalion 223 of the Carmeli Brigade.
Meharim made aliyah alone at the age of 18, leaving his mother and siblings behind in Ethiopia.
He kept in touch with his family through Whatsapp, and although he texted them that he was on reserve duty, his family were unaware that he was deployed in Gaza.
His sister Leah said, “He always said he was fine and not in a dangerous area. I guess he wanted to keep us all safe.”
“The truth is that we didn’t know he was in Gaza, he kept making sure to say that everything was fine and tried to protect us,” she added.
A bus driver who enjoyed photography as a hobby, Kalkidan Meharim as “a Zionist and he aspired all his life to reach Israel,” according to his sister.
She added, “He was a guy with a huge and amazing heart, who was all about giving and always helped and supported us all.”
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