JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Hundreds of Beit Shemesh residents took part on Monday night in a charedi ceremony marking Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror, in remembrance of those who were killed. The event was held for the third consecutive year, with the aim of expressing solidarity with the entire Jewish people and sharing in the deep national mourning on this sacred day.

During the evening, participants watched a moving recorded conversation with the parents of Staff Sgt. Moshe Shmuel Noll, of blessed memory, a resident of the city who fell about nine months ago in Gaza at the age of 21.

As previously reported, around nine months ago, five soldiers from the Netzah Yehuda Battalion were killed in a massive explosion in the Beit Hanoun area in the northern Gaza Strip. In addition to the five fallen soldiers, 14 others were wounded in the  incident—two seriously, six moderately, and the rest lightly.

“Moishy was a fighter all his life,” his mother, Mrs. Miriam Noll, said, describing her son who, despite the difficulties and challenges he faced throughout his life after being born with severe learning disabilities, never gave up and kept fighting. “He discovered what he could excel at and focused on that,” she said.

His father, Rabbi David Noll, described the most terrible moment of all, the knock on the door in the middle of the night. “I was asleep at 3 a.m. when there was a very, very strong knock on the door. I got up with no expectation of what it could be, just someone at the door, which was unusual. I opened the door and saw three soldiers in uniform and a woman holding something as well. The moment I opened the door and saw them standing there, the only words I said were, ‘Oh no.’ Then I asked them to come in and went to call my wife, who had probably also heard the knocking. I told her it was the army, it was obvious.”

His mother described the last phone call with her son, just hours before he fell. After that call, she slept so deeply that she did not wake up from the knocking at the door. “I knew Moishy was okay because I had spoken to him and knew he was fine,” she said. “And that was the greatest shock.”

“He was a very positive person,” his father said. “He had a sharp mind. Yes, he had dyslexia and reading difficulties, no doubt. But he was a wonderful brother to his siblings.”

“I miss him so much,” the father said, his voice breaking.

In conclusion, the mother spoke about her deep faith in God and said: “It’s clear that if it was his time to go, I don’t think there is a better way to go.”