October 17, 2026
The family of Israeli soldier Gur Kayhati, who was killed in southern Lebanon in November 2024, decided to leave Israel permanently and settle on the Greek island of Crete, in protest against what it considered “military negligence” and a failure to hold accountable those responsible for the circumstances of his death, according to what was revealed by the “Haaretz” newspaper.
This step comes in light of the family of the 20-year-old sergeant perfecting its accusations against the Israeli army of negligence, indicating that it has lost complete confidence in the military institution due to the delay in revealing the details of the incident, the slowness of investigations, and the absence of effective accountability for those responsible for a series of mistakes that led to his death.
The details of the incident go back to November 20, 2024, when retired Colonel Yoav Yarom, who was serving as Chief of Staff of the Golani Brigade, allowed researcher Zeev Erlich (71 years old) to enter southern Lebanon without obtaining the necessary approvals, in order to examine an archaeological site in the town of Shama, during the Israeli ground attack and a few days before the ceasefire was announced.
While a team of soldiers was escorting Erlich, who was wearing military uniform, towards a historical castle dating back to the Middle Ages, the force was subjected to an armed ambush set up by the “party,” which resulted in the killing of Erlich and Kihati, in addition to seriously wounding another officer.
The Kihati family considered that their son’s killing was the result of “failures that could have been avoided,” noting that the army’s handling of the incident—from the media blackout to the ambiguity of the course of the investigations—deepened their feelings of disappointment, and described the course of events as resembling a “horror movie.”
In a related context, Maayan, the mother of the slain soldier, asked who protects the soldiers whose families send them to serve, expressing her bitterness over the families’ inability to obtain clear answers or ensure that those responsible are held accountable. During a meeting she held with Israeli Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir last July, when she informed him of the family’s intention to leave the country, she responded to him by saying: “Israel is the one that abandoned my family.”
For his part, Kehati’s father explained that the decision to leave for Greece came after the family lost its sense of security and belonging, stressing that the family was no longer able to recover or live under the current reality inside Israel.
