The mother of Staff Sergeant Ofri Yaffe, an IDF Paratrooper who was killed by friendly fire in Gaza, said she received a message from a member of the sniper unit involved in the incident.

Ofri was killed during an IDF operation in Gaza, when initial military findings determined that he was struck by gunfire from Israeli forces during an engineering mission to demolish buildings near IDF positions. The IDF said the fatal shot was fired from a light weapon by a sniper team operating in the area.

His mother, Hadas Yaffe, said in an interview that a soldier from the sniper unit contacted her with an apology on behalf of the sniper and shared condolences with the family following the incident.

Hadas said she does not have any anger toward the sniper or his unit. “The sniper is my son, just like Ofri, and I will hug him and ask him to continue living his life. I don’t have a gram of anger toward him or toward the sniper team. The sniper is supposed to come today, we will hear him out, and we hope he will be part of our family. We have three other children, and we promised them that we would remain a happy family. Ofri had many friends, and his girlfriend, Roni, will be with us forever. We are not alone in this struggle,” she said.

The sniper who contacted the family said he hoped to attend Ofri’s funeral but was unsure if he would be able to. Ofri Yaffe is from Moshav HaYogev, where he will be laid to rest today.