Two Childhood Friends from Northern Israel Fall in Gaza Battles
Two childhood friends from Har Halutz who grew up across the street from each other have both fallen during IDF military operations in the Gaza Strip, leaving grieving families and devastated friends behind.
Two fallen IDF soldiers, Sergeant First Class Itai Saadon and Master Sergeant (res.) Nadav Kally, grew up across the street from each other in the small northern community of Har Halutz. Nadav, who was killed this week in a drone explosion incident in the Gaza Strip alongside Master Sergeant (res.) Ofek Mualem, was laid to rest at the Misgav cemetery, close to his childhood friend Itai, who fell in November 2023 in battle in the northern Strip.
Liat Saadon, Itai's mother, published a post this morning featuring childhood photos of the two boys together. She wrote that she has not slept for two consecutive nights, frantically digging through photographs while searching for Itai and Nadav, struggling to comprehend how this could happen. She recalled the quiet days on Ha-Harim Street in Har Halutz, where young families raised children of similar ages, sharing neighborhood games, holiday bonfires, and street-side chats.
Remembering Childhood Friends
Recalling the close-knit community atmosphere, Saadon described how the children would play freely along the dead-end street, slide down snowy hills on plastic bags during rare winter days, and participate in end-of-summer street toy bazaars. Although her family eventually moved to Tel Aviv after Itai finished high school, her son always dreamed of returning to Har Halutz to raise his own children.
"Ibuprofen, I used to imagine standing in the street with the mothers, who are now grandmothers, watching our grandchildren run around. But Itai died, and now Nadav has died too. And I meet the mothers mostly at the cemetery." — Liat Saadon
Fallen Heroes of the Iron Swords Operation
Sergeant First Class Itai Saadon, a tank commander in the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Brigade, fell in battle in the northern Gaza Strip on November 3, 2023, at the age of 21. His parents, Eyal and Liat, have consistently shared his memory and legacy across social media since his passing. Meanwhile, friends of Master Sergeant (res.) Nadav Kally, a combat soldier in the 7007th Battalion of the 16th Brigade who grew up alongside him since kindergarten, expressed profound sorrow over his loss, remembering his bright smile, intellectual curiosity, and steadfast loyalty.
