Nativ Kuzro

Sgt. Nativ Kuzaro, 21, a technician in the air defense array from Ma’aleh Adumim, was killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7.

A technician with the Iron Dome, Kuzaro, Cpt. Sahar Saudyan and Binyamin Gavriel Yona left to restock the defense battery with interceptor missiles a few hours into Hamas’s deadly onslaught. The missiles are stored nearby, but not at the battery itself.

All three were shot dead in their vehicle. Their bodies were recovered and identified several days later. They were the first ever Iron Dome battery operators to be killed in battle.

Nativ is survived by his parents, Esther and Hagai, and his older siblings Nofar and Kfir. He was buried on October 12 on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

His family said he dreamed of an army career, and was always the first to help others, loved to cook — including for his comrades on base — and was smiling in every photo.

His brother, Kfir Kuzaro, told Channel 13 news that at around 8:10 a.m. Nativ sent them a selfie of himself in a flak jacket, writing, “Wow, what a morning I had, all the rockets were by me. The missiles ran out, we’re heading out to restock.”

His sister, Nofar Biton, told the TV network that just a few minutes before he was killed, he told her there were terrorists near the stockpile, adding: “Don’t tell mom and dad anything.”

“He was a child of light, and joy,” said Nofar. “His smile always led the way.”

Nofar said, “Nativ said to me once, ‘If something happens to me, I hope it happens in the army. That way I won’t be forgotten.'”

Kfir told a local news outlet that Nativ wanted to undergo officer training and stay on in the army past his mandatory service. “He set it as a goal and spoke about it with us. He had aspirations to study, he loved to learn. He was a wonderful little brother who told me that he wanted to follow in my footsteps. He was the light of the house.”

Nativ’s father, Hagai told the site, “In every photo you could see his smile and his light, even when he died he was smiling. A boy who was so loved by everyone. He was even in the family WhatsApp groups of his friends.”

Hagai said Nativ “was always doing and volunteering, at school, he was the first to volunteer, and also at home, always the first to help. Also on base, he would always treat everyone — he told us all the time how much he loved us and loved home. Nativ was so unique, a special boy with a special name.”

Nofar said that his status on WhatsApp for years has turned into a last will and testament for his family and friends, reading: “Leave the next generations with a better world than the one we found.”
Source: The Times of Israel