Duffel bag of officer killed in Gaza returned to family after nearly 3 years: "A message from the afterlife"
The family of Captain Eitan Fish, who fell in battle in the Gaza Strip, has received his duffel bag, discovered years later. His father, David, described the emotional moment: "Truly a whirlwind of emotions, it is shaking to touch these things."
Almost three years after armored corps officer Captain Eitan Fish (23) from the settlement of Peduel was killed in battle during the war in the Gaza Strip, his family received a personal item from his military service. "It is a message from the afterlife," said his father, David Fish, after the duffel bag of his fallen son was located. "Such an event is another greeting from him, as if he is saying, 'I know you haven't forgotten me, know that I haven't forgotten you either.'"
The item reached the family in an unexpected way. The father recounted: "My son, who lives in the settlement, called and asked if we were home because he had something for us. At 22:30, he arrived with Eitan's duffel bag." It turned out that the owners of the apartment where the bag was found had spent the last few years in the USA. Upon returning to Israel, they assumed it belonged to their tenant, whose last name is Fisher. "When the landlord realized it wasn't the tenant's and saw Eitan's name on the bag, he made the connection and reached out to us," the father explained.
Apparently, this was not the duffel bag that accompanied Captain Fish during the war, but rather items he collected throughout his military service. The father described the emotion that gripped the family upon opening the bag:
"I didn't sleep all night. There was a tactical vest, a hydration bladder, a sewing kit, gloves, a radio handset, a notebook, and other items from training. It is truly a whirlwind of emotions for which I found no words. It is shaking to touch the things; it makes the absence present."
Since Captain Fish's fall, the family has received several mementos from his comrades. The family is asking the son's acquaintances to pass on any additional items they may have. "We feel his presence around us all the time," said David. He also noted that Eitan was a painter, a musician, and a basketball player with a great greatness of soul.
Captain Fish was killed on December 4, 2023, alongside two of his friends from the 53rd Battalion of the 188th "Barak" Brigade: Sergeant Yakir Yedidya Schenkolewski (21) and Staff Sergeant Tuval Yaakov Tsanani (20) from Kiryat Gat. The three were killed by an anti-tank missile hit on the outskirts of Shuja'iyya.
