Parents of British-born Israeli soldier killed in an explosion while fighting in Gaza say their ‘son died a hero’
professorkamrankhan@gmail.com 
The parents of a British-born Israeli soldier who was killed while fighting in Gaza have spoken of their grief.
Avi Rosenfeld, 60, and his English teacher wife Sam Rosenfeld, 50, told the Daily Mail their son died saving the lives of other Israel Defence Force soldiers, in their first interview with a British media outlet since his death in June.
Natan Rosenfeld, 20, who served in the combat engineering battalion after being conscripted, was killed in an explosion while clearing out an empty house in Kfar Jabalia in northern Gaza.
The exact details of his death are still classified. But snippets shared by his parents prove that Natan died how he lived: a hero.
‘It could have been ten times worse, but [Natan] took the force of it,’ Mr Rosenfeld said. ‘The blast [that killed him] was so harsh that his two friends, who were standing next to him, were blown aside from the shockwaves. He saved them.
‘My son took the fall for it but saved a lot of other people.’
He continued: ‘The biggest miracle of all is that the blast didn’t in any way break his body.’
‘So at the funeral we got to see him one last time. And unfortunately, many parents don’t.’
The parents of British-born Israeli soldier Natan Rosenfeld, who was killed while fighting in Gaza, have spoken of their grief for the first time
Avi Rosenfeld, 60, and his English teacher wife Sam Rosenfeld, 50, paid tribute to their son, who they described as a ‘hero’
Natan was killed while fighting in Gaza in June. Pictured: Smoke billows during an Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip earlier this week
Mrs Rosenfeld said: ‘They kept telling us he’s whole. He’s whole. And we didn’t initially understand what they meant. When we finally got to see him and kiss him, he was bruised and battered and so cold. But clearly it was our boy.’
At this point, the heartbroken parents – who were speaking over FaceTime from their home in Ra’anana, a small city ten miles north of Tel Aviv – began to sob quietly, gripping each other for comfort.
Originally from Hendon, north-west London, the close-knit Rosenfeld family made aliyah – when a Jewish person moves to Israel – 13 years ago, when Natan was seven.
Mrs Rosenfeld said it was an ordinary Sunday morning when a woman and two men in army uniform knocked on her door to inform the family of his death.
When she opened the door, her daughter Eliora, 22, saw the visitors and started screaming.
Eliora’s boyfriend, staff sergeant Hallel Saadon, had been shot dead on October 7, so she knew why the soldiers were there.
Mrs Rosenfeld said: ‘When they told me [Natan] had died I didn’t think it was real. I kept asking them, ‘Are you sure it’s him?’
The soldiers told her she should not tell her husband, who wasn’t at home, over the phone.
Natan, pictured as a child, was from Hendon, north-west London before moving to Israel
The family moved to Ra’anana, a small city ten miles north of Tel Aviv, 13 years ago
Mr Rosenfeld said of his son: ‘Natan’s kindness was overpowering. He was always smiling. And I am so intensely proud of him’
Natan was killed in an explosion while clearing out an empty house in Kfar Jabalia in Gaza
Mr Rosenfeld said: ‘She was super calm and just told me I needed to come home – at the time I had no idea why.
‘But when I walked in the house and saw my wife and the kids red-eyed and the three people standing there in military uniform I knew immediately.
‘I just started shouting: ‘I can’t believe it!’ I kept saying it over and over. One of the uniformed men walked over to me and he hugged me. They were like angels.’
Asked if they regretted moving to Israel, Mrs Rosenfeld said: ‘We moved to Israel because we wanted a better life for our kids. Of course you never imagine your son is going to be killed in the army. But we don’t regret our decision for a moment.’
Her husband said: ‘There is only one Jewish land in the entire world. My parents grew up in eastern Europe, they went through the Holocaust.
‘We’ve seen again and again what history has in mind for the Jewish people. This is a beautiful country. The people are good people.
‘But we have sadly had to pay a very heavy debt to be able to live in this country.’
Describing his son, he said: ‘Natan’s kindness was overpowering. He was always smiling. And I am so intensely proud of him.’
Looking back towards their country of birth – the UK – the Rosenfelds are horrified by growing ‘intolerance’ towards Jewish people.
Mr Rosenfeld said: ‘I love England and the people of Britain are good people. But the country has an enormous problem at the moment.’
