Sergeant First Class (res.) Yoval Lopez, 27, from Kfar Tapuach in the West Bank, was one of the soldiers killed on Monday in the incident in the center of the Gaza Strip, in which 21 soldiers died in total.
Lopez was a fighter in the Tank Corps, and served in the 205th Tank Brigade, in the 9206th Battalion. He is survived by his wife, Sigalit, and three young daughters, aged from eight months to three years old, as well as his parents Yocheved and Yohai Lopez, and two brothers, both of whom are also fighting in the war, one in Jenin and the other in Gaza.
Lopez made Aliyah at age six and grew up in the Bnei Moshe community in the Givat Hahish neighborhood of Alon Shvut, in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem. Originally from Trujillo, Peru, the Bnei Moshe are commonly known as the "Inca Jews," most of whom emigrated to Israel in the 1990s. Lopez attended the Orot Yehuda Yeshiva High School in Efrat. His funeral is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at the Mount Herzl cemetery.
Menachem, a close friend of Yuval, said that he began to spend time in Givat Hahish as a teenager, and was accepted with open arms into Yuval's circle of friends – and became especially close to Yuval, as close as brothers. The two spoke less in recent years but spoke more frequently since the war broke out on October 7.
"He was very witty, very funny, one of those guys who would crack everyone up. We would be talking about something serious, and he would slip in a joke and make everyone laugh," Menachem said.
Despite his sense of humor, Yuval was more of an introvert and it was unusual for the two friends to hold deep or intimate conversations. Yet Menachem fondly remembers a specific heart-to-heart conversation and how special it felt.
Yuval was completely dedicated to his wife and daughters, but was also dedicated to the state – and Menachem was surprised about how important it was to Yuval to take part in the fighting. Yuval was supposed to be released from reserve duty in a couple of weeks, but when the two friends last spoke a week ago, Yuval was still motivated, even though many other reservists had already been released, Menachem said.
Yuval worked as a security guard in Kfar Tapuach and was set to begin studies as an automobile engineer.
Lopez's missed presence will be felt by many
Naftali Sikacha, first cousin of Lopez's wife Sigalit and also a resident of Kfar Tapuach, mourned, "Yoval and Sigalit, two identical souls, so similar. He was an exemplary father. Dedicated. He served at first on the northern border, but in the middle of the war was transferred to the South, to Gaza. He loved the army. Loved the state."
"He had the soul of a person always willing to give a helping hand," Sikacha continued, adding that Lopez was last home two weeks ago.
"What can be said? Everything I say about him will be too little. He loved life. My heart is broken," Sikacha said.
Shomron Regional Council head Yossi Dagan said, "Yoval fell while defending the homeland, and left a large hole in all of our hearts. We will continue to stand formidably, the settlement in Samaria and the State of Israel will continue to develop and grow."