IDF Capt. (res.) Ariel Mordechay Wollfstal, 28, from Elazar, a combat officer in Battalion 9206, Brigade 205, fell in battle in Gaza on Monday. He was one of the 21 soldiers killed when a building under fire collapsed on them.
He was buried in the military section of the Kfar Etzion Cemetery yesterday.
At the funeral, his father said: “I am proud of you, and I salute you for what you’ve done, a great soldier, an admired captain who always took care of his soldiers.”
On October 7, he continued, “We were all called up to fight. You didn’t hesitate, not for a second, and completed every mission they sent you on. During every phone call we had, you always said, ‘I’m keeping myself safe.’”
His mother said: “Arieloosh, thank you for turning me into a mother. Thank you for the love and the help, I am proud of who you are. We talked about everything; we talked about the state and what was happening to her, so many things interested him. We talked about the home he and Sapir were building.”
Ariel’s brother, Ori, said that Ariel “was the big brother, a pillar in our family. When things were down, and when they were better, he was always there for us. He was an idealistic man. From the moment he was drafted, he had a constant smile on his face; this is not a given.
“When it came to defending our land, our nation, our people, he was the first to go. We know that he held fears that he didn’t share with us. He was a man of action, always with a smile, a good husband, a wonderful brother, and someone who enjoyed life.”
Wollfstal was among 21 reservists who fell in one of the fiercest battles since the war started. The incident occurred around 4 p.m. on Monday in central Gaza, when Hamas forces fired a rocket-propelled-grenade into a building laden with stored explosives, which detonated and collapsed the structure upon them.
Economics and business graduate
Wollfstal, an economics and business administration graduate, who attended Derech Avot and a pre-military program in Yatir, worked at an investment company in Tel Aviv. He leaves behind a heartbroken wife, Sapir, and parents, Wally and Hali.