JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Hundreds of family members, friends, residents of the Binyamin region, and fellow soldiers accompanied Staff Sergeant Naveh Habshush, 20, from the community of Geva Binyamin (Adam), to his final resting place Sunday evening at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Habshush was killed in combat in southern Lebanon.

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Naveh served as the battalion commander’s tank commander in the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Brigade. The entire tank crew was killed in a severe incident on Thursday night.

He is survived by his parents, Haim and Einav, and his sisters, Noam and Nesia.

His mother, Einav, shared the story of her unexpected pregnancy at age 46: “My beloved child, at your bar mitzvah I began with the words, ‘For this boy I prayed.’ How long I waited for you, how much I loved you, how much I prayed for you. Today I stand here as a mother and cannot believe it. You were a sensitive boy with an enormous heart. You possessed virtues that cannot be learned from books, they were simply part of who you were. I was privileged to witness your great soul every day.”

She revealed: “A few months ago we discovered that I was pregnant. It was a complete surprise. We didn’t understand how, at age 46, I would carry this pregnancy. We wondered what God wanted from us. Then the officers knocked on the door and delivered the news… Amid the great darkness that fell upon our lives, I carry new life within me. When my beloved child, my only son, was taken from me, there remained within me a heartbeat of life that forces me to get up each morning and continue living.”

She continued: “This pregnancy has not been easy. It began with difficulties and continued during days when my heart shattered into pieces. But I promise you, Naveh, that I will protect this child with everything I have. Perhaps because I don’t have the strength to lose another child, and perhaps because it is the small gift you left me.”

She described experiencing strong pains on Thursday morning:”Since Thursday morning I had severe pains, like contractions, as though my body sensed and was preparing to say goodbye to you.”

Her final request to her son was: “Send me strength. Help me get up in the morning, even on the days when I won’t want to. Help me be the mother that Noam and Nesia need right now. Help me raise them with joy and faith even when I feel my heart breaking with you. And when your little sister comes into this world, ask for mercy for her from above, accompany her, protect her, help me be a good mother for her as well.”

She concluded: “Before I part from you, I want to thank you for the privilege of being your mother. You will be my son forever. For this boy I prayed, and for this boy I will continue to pray, love, and miss for all the days of my life. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

His father, Haim, recalled the last message he received from his son: “Your last message came Thursday night at 11:15 p.m. You asked: ‘How are you, Dad? There’s a chance I’ll get leave next Sunday, but don’t tell Mom so she won’t be disappointed if I don’t get out after all.’ About an hour later, the worst happened. You ascended to heaven together with the battalion commander’s tank crew. You so wanted to be meaningful and take part in the fighting.”

He described Naveh as: “My precious son, the only son in the family. You were my partner on countless trips throughout the country. You were raised to love this land, and you loved it deeply. You paid the highest price so that we can continue walking its length and breadth.”

He told the crowd: “Many thousands came here to pay their final respects, but not everyone knows who you were. I want to tell them. You were an angel sent to us for far too short a time, quiet, shy, humble, speaking little and doing much. You always saw others before yourself.”

Referring to the identification process after the incident, he said:”Just as you remained last in the tank, everyone else was identified before you, and we had to wait for you until this very morning.”

He added: “I tried calling you several times, and you didn’t answer. But your WhatsApp status remained the same: ‘Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.'”

His father concluded: “My beloved son, hero of Israel. All my life I have navigated and read maps, but now I feel that I have lost my compass. I truly don’t know how to continue without your smile. Please, Naveh, light the way for us. Thank you for the privilege of being your father.”