Brit-Israeli 'hero', 22, killed while saving injured civilians from Hamas gunmen

23 October 2023 , 12:36

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Yosef Guedalia, 22, was a soldier in an anti-terror unit and killed while confronting Hamas gunmen

A British-Israeli hero was killed during a Hamas massacre after confronting the militants, his family says.

Yosef Guedalia, 22, was a soldier in an anti-terror unit of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and was killed while fighting off the group's gunmen at Kibbutz Kfar Aza when they attacked on October 7. His brother Asher said he helped evacuate injured civilians before returning to fight the invaders. A video shows Yosef carrying an injured civilian who is now recovering in hospital, Asher says.

The heartbroken sibling brother said: "He literally saved people minutes before he got shot. He acted with heroism and determination, he continued to fight and didn’t think of himself or hesitate... he went in to rescue as many citizens as possible before they got murdered in their homes and to kill as many terrorists as he could."

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Yosef's brother Asher said he helped evacuate injured civilians before returning to fight Hamas gunmen

Asher went on to say he was sure his brother understood "he might not get back to his wife and his family but that’s his calling. That’s the hero we had for 22 years". Yosef was about to celebrate his first wedding anniversary. He is the eleventh Brit now confirmed to have been killed by Hamas, with at least four still missing. It comes after the family of British teenager Noiya Sharabi said yesterday that she was murdered in the same attack that her sister and mother were killed in on October 7.

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Noiya, 16, disappeared during the Kibbutz Be'eri massacre. Her mother Lianne was killed in the attack, and her sister Yahel, 13, was also believed to be missing - along with Noiya and their father Eli. However, last week Yahel was confirmed dead, and on Sunday Noiya's family said that she was killed in the attack too.

Yosef was about to celebrate his first wedding anniversary

In a statement provided to the BBC, Noiya's family said her smile "lit up the room like a beacon". Her family added that she "embraced every opportunity to help others, particularly those less fortunate than she, and was a gifted student and linguist. Most importantly, she was an amazing granddaughter, cousin and niece. We are heartbroken she has gone, but forever grateful she was here." The girls' father Eli remains missing.

Photographer Danny Darlington, who was originally from the UK but was living in Germany and on a visit to Israel, was also killed in Nir Oz kibbutz. Other British nationals killed include 20-year-old Nathanel Young, who was serving in the IDF, festival security guard Jake Marlowe, 26, and Bernard Cowan, who was originally from Glasgow.

Ryan Merrifield