David Shakuri

David was born and raised in Arnona (Jerusalem).

As a child he was identified as the son of Sasson from the grocery store. He later became an officer in combat engineering, and was among the discoverers of the giant Hamas tunnel in the UNRA building in the Gaza Strip, where he also fell in battle. “We laugh and cry,” says his mother Gabriela. “What gives strength is seeing David’s daughter – that’s how I feel about him “.

“In about two years, David was supposed to move into the new house he built in Mzekrat Batya, together with his wife Dafna and daughter Yahli – this will no longer happen,” says Gabriela Shakuri, the mother of Major David Shakuri, who was killed in early February in a battle in the northern Gaza Strip, with sadness and pain.

David was the deputy commander of the 601st battalion in the Iron Tracks (401) formation of the Combat Engineering Corps. He was shot by a Hamas sniper while engaged in a mission to destroy a tunnel under the UNRA headquarters in the northern Gaza Strip.

In the past few years, David lived together with Dafna and Yaheli in Rehovot. He spent his childhood and youth in Jerusalem. In Arnona, where his parents – Gabriela and Sasson – still live, he owns a grocery store “that everyone in Arnona and Talpiot knows”.

“David fell when he was engaged in a mission to destroy a tunnel under the UNRWA headquarters where there was a lot of information and a large Hamas communication center,” Gabriela describes with pride mixed with pain, “a Hamas Nazi sniper shot him with a precise shot, and he died on the spot. There wasn’t much to do, at least he didn’t suffer and it was immediate. Two days after the exposure of the tunnel, they managed to rescue two hostages, when some of the important information came thanks to the exposure of the tunnel by David and his soldiers.”

He has been married to Dafna, a permanent reserve triad officer, since 2021. They met during his undergraduate studies at the Tactical Command College. About a year ago, their daughter Yahli was born. “The family was his whole world,” Gabriela sobs, “Despite his military career, he devoted every free time to Dafna and Yahli. David left Jerusalem several years ago, after meeting Dafna.

Gabriela says that at every opportunity Sasson offered him different employment options – from working in the family business to opening his own business. But David preferred the army.

On October 7, David and Dafna were at home. Hours after the start of the attack – they were sent to their bases and drove as fast as possible, leaving their daughter Yahli with Dafna’s parents.