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MembersCeasefire and funerals – Two more fallen soldiers from my town

The ceasefire is back in effect. Yet in Modi’in, we are mourning two young men—one of the funeral processions will pass right by our house.

A sad tradition: People in Modi'in hold Israeli flags to pay their respects to fallen soldier Ofir Berkovich. She was killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip on October 20, 2024. Photo: Jonathan Shaul/Flash90
A sad tradition: People in Modi'in hold Israeli flags to pay their respects to fallen soldier Ofir Berkovich. She was killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip on October 20, 2024. Photo: Jonathan Shaul/Flash90

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is once again in force. After Hamas fighters attacked Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza on Sunday, killing two of them, the army responded with airstrikes and then declared it would continue to uphold the agreement brokered by the US government—but would respond decisively to any violations.

In the attack near Rafah, Yaniv Kula (26) and Itay Yavetz (21) were killed—both from Modi’in. When I heard that the fallen were from our hometown, it suddenly felt very close. No longer just a distant news story, but part of our own daily lives.

We didn’t know...

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Patrick Callahan

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One response to “Ceasefire and funerals – Two more fallen soldiers from my town”

  1. Susan says:

    Once Hamas began open firing on the IDF (and on Gazans before that), the agreement should have been nullified. Perhaps, the 3rd party mediators need to check the dictionary for the meaning of ceasefire:

    “A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of ‘open fire’), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions, often due to mediation by a third party.”

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