Reuven Magen, a 27-year-old man who was seriously injured while serving in the IDF armored corps during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, died on Friday, about seven and a half years after the operation in Gaza.
Five of Reuven's friends were killed on July 31, 2014, by a mortar shell falling on an open gathering area in the Eshkol Regional Council.
Before the fighters managed to board armored personnel carriers and evacuate the site, two bombs fell in the open, and one hit the APC. Liran Adir, Omri Tal, Shai Kushnir, Noam Rosenthal and Daniel Marsh were all killed.
Reuven, then a soldier in the 53rd Armored Regiment, was one of 15 people who were wounded and survived. His leg was seriously injured and he was treated at Tel Hashomer Hospital for four months.
In addition, he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Following the injury, he was discharged early from the IDF.
His sister, Avital, told Walla News about the trauma that had accompanied him ever since. "It has been difficult for him, and even more difficult since COVID-19 and Operation Guardian of the Walls," she said. "It was hard to numb the difficulties, and the pain was too much."
"He was a great light and left a deep impression on everyone around him," Avital said about her brother.
Avital seeks to dispel rumors that Reuven took his own life. "There is no indication that my brother did anything intentionally to end his life," she said.