Son of Israeli minister killed in Gaza, IDF announces

 

Gal Meir Eisenkot, the son of Israeli government minister Gadi Eisenkot, has been killed in northern Gaza, Israeli Defense Forces announced on Thursday.

"Master Sergeant (Res) Gal Meir Eisenkot, 25, of Harlejya, a combat soldier with the 699th Battalion of the 551st Reserve Commando Brigade, was killed in combat in the northern Gaza Strip," the IDF said in a statement.

His father was Chief of the General Staff of the IDF from February 2015 to January 2018 and served in the army for four decades.

In the wake of the 7 October attacks, he joined the wartime cabinet as a minister without portfolio. He is a member of Benny Gantz's National Unity Party, and was elected to the Knesset in 2022.

A total of 88 IDF soldiers have been killed in Gaza since 7 October.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his condolences in a post on Twitter.

“The Government of Israel and the citizens of Israel join you in mourning. Our heroes did not die in vain. “We will continue to fight until victory,” Netanyahu said.

Israeli War Cabinet member and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz also paid his tribute, saying in a statement: “Blessed is the memory of Gal and of all those who died fighting for our home. Even in his name, even in his name, we continue the mission.”