Brother of Master Sergeant (Res.) Shmuel Gad Rahamim: 'It hurts that he won’t get to see the hostages come home'

Eli Rahamim, the brother of Master Sergeant (Res.) Shmuel Gad Rahamim, who died yesterday from his wounds after being injured by an IDF grenade in southern Gaza, spoke this morning (Sunday) in an interview on “Seder Yom” with Keren Neubach on Kan Reshet Bet about the loss—and the deep sense of heartbreak: “It hurts that he won’t get to see the hostages return home.”

“He did everything to stay in the system,” Eli said about his brother. “He was wounded in the battles on October 7, and his entire goal was to rescue the hostages—and now he won’t live to see them come back.”

Eli also addressed the operational accident that caused his brother’s death: “Right now the incident is under investigation, but until the findings are released, there’s no point in focusing on that. At this stage it doesn’t really matter, because nothing will bring him back—and this isn’t about blaming anyone.”

In conclusion, Eli called on the public to attend his brother’s funeral, which will be held today at 1:00 p.m. at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery: “Come and give him the honor he deserves as an Israeli hero. This is a man who took part in so many operations—some known, some still classified. He gave himself completely to the army.”

Master Sergeant (Res.) Shmuel Gad Rahamim, 31, from Giv’at Ze’ev, was a soldier in Battalion 7015 of the Southern Brigade. He died yesterday after being critically injured last Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, by the explosion of a military grenade at a post in Khan Yunis. The total number of IDF fallen in the Iron Swords War now stands at 915.

In the same incident, which took place last Tuesday, two other reservists were wounded—one seriously and two moderately. A day after the incident, the IDF announced that the Southern Command Chief, Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, and the Ground Forces Commander, Maj. Gen. Nadav Lotan, had decided to establish a professional inquiry team led by Col. Y., commander of the 5th Brigade, to examine the circumstances of the operational accident.

Two days ago, the IDF cleared for publication that Staff Sergeant (Res.) Michael Mordechai Nachmani, 26, from Dimona, a combat engineering and maintenance soldier in the 614th Engineering Battalion, was killed on Thursday by sniper fire in the Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza City. The incident occurred when his unit came under sniper ambush while operating in the camp. Nachmani was critically wounded and, after resuscitation efforts failed, was pronounced dead.