Maj. Ido Yehoshua, 27, a squad commander in the Israeli Air Force’s elite Shaldag unit, from Ayelet Hashahar, was killed on October 7 while battling Hamas at the Re’im IDF base.
That Saturday morning was his wife’s birthday, and they awoke in their home in the central city of Yavne to sirens. Before he was even called in, Ido headed south to join the fight against Hamas and assess the situation.
Ido and his soldiers were sent to the Re’im base, which houses the Gaza Division, to try and seize control back from the terrorist invaders, and to rescue the soldiers, commanders and a number of civilians who were holed up inside. He and his small group of soldiers entered the base and managed to kill a number of terrorists, while Ido was killed in the fierce firefight. Israel ultimately regained control of the base later that evening.
Ido was buried in Ayelet HaShahar on October 12. He is survived by his wife, Ziv, and his son, Eitan Yehuda, who was born several months after he was killed, as well as his parents, Rakefet and Yehuda, his sister Dor and brother Omri.
His mother, Rakefet, told a local radio station that “Ido used to say that he would become the IDF chief of staff, but later he said that he would either become IDF chief or be killed. Sadly, he was killed.”
She said that her son “saw himself serving the country, he really loved the army and as his service continued he also built a path that started in Unit 669 and included an officer’s course and the Golani Brigade, he was on a track of commander positions to advance… He was brave and determined, he was excellent.”
Ido’s wife, Ziv, said that a week before he was killed they had been on vacation together in the Seychelles discussing baby names. Ido wanted to call their firstborn Eitan, but Ziv didn’t. “Eventually he said that it didn’t really matter, because we’ll call the first one this and the second one something else,” she told Channel 12 news. “Of course I called him the name Ido wanted, and I added Yehuda for his father.”
Ziv said, “I promised myself before the baby arrived that he would grow up with joy, that I would be a happy mom for him and not just outwardly. I promised myself that I would raise him with his father’s values, and his father is a hero. I decided to do everything so that he would hear about him as much as possible, know his story, and be proud of him.”
She added that “it’s important people know that Ido wasn’t just a hero. She was also a man who loved life, who loved to enjoy and be happy, that his dream was to be a father. He chose to sacrifice all that so that we could all keep living here.”
