staff sergeant eyal banin
Born in South Africa, Eyal made aliyah with his family at the age of 2. The family moved first to Omer, in the south, but following his parents’ divorce, Eyal moved with his mother to Tel Aviv when in 10th grade. He met new friends, but continued to participate in the summer scout activities with his troop from Omer and remained loyal to the members of his childhood. Troop 18 that Eyal belonged to was a group of young men and women from Omer who had been together since first grade, and remained good friends throughout the years - even after everyone set off to pursue their own paths in adulthood. Eyal, considered the leader of the troop, earned the nicknamel "Division Commander." Eyal was killed on July 12, 2006 during a Hezbollah attack on Israel’s northern border. (This was the incident in which Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were kidnapped.) Eyal was 22 years old.