A 58-year-old father of four was killed in the early hours of Sunday when his home in Ashkelon was hit by a rocket from Gaza.
Moshe Agadi failed to reach his house’s safe room, after coming out for a cigarette break cut short by another siren.
Agadi was evacuated to Ashkelon’s Barzilai Medical Center with massive shrapnel wounds, but passed away on the way to the hospital as paramedics fought to save his life.
One of Moshe’s brothers, Shai, told Israel Army Radio that “Moshe always showed respect to everyone. We don’t know how to keep going. If Moshe was here, he would give us hope; now we are helpless.”
“I send my condolences to the Agadi family, who lost their father, Moshe, tonight during the harsh rocket fire in Ashkelon,” said Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. “We send you a big hug of condolence and sympathy for your terrible loss.”
Agadi’s funeral is scheduled for Sunday at at 4 p.m. at the New Cemetery in Ashkelon.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, some 70 percent of the rockets fired from the Gaza Strip had struck open fields, with most of the remainder being intercepted by the Iron Dome air-defense system.
However, some rockets got through, with hits in Sderot, Hof Ashkelon, Ofakim, Kiryat Gat and Beersheva.