An Israeli soldier from Connecticut is killed in southern Lebanon weeks after completing training

NEW YORK (AP) — A young man who moved from Connecticut to Israel last year to join the military was killed during a combat operation in southern Lebanon on Saturday just weeks after he completed training.

The Israeli military identified the soldier as Sgt. Moshe Yitzchak Hacohen Katz, 22. He was originally from New Haven, Connecticut, according to family members.

“My heart is shattered and the wound is real,” his father, Mendy Katz, said in a post on Facebook.

Moshe Katz was the oldest of five children. The Israeli military said he was assigned to the 890th Battalion, Paratroopers Brigade. He was killed in southern Lebanon, a stronghold of the militant group Hezbollah, as Israel expands an invasion there.

After his death was announced, his parents and other family members traveled to Israel to attend his funeral, scheduled for Sunday, said Caroline Caprio, business partner of the soldier's father.

Moshe Katz’s decision to join the Israeli military took shape in the months after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people, his sister, Adina Katz, said in an interview with Ynet News, an Israeli news website.

About a year after the attack, Moshe Katz committed himself to the move, she said. When he followed through last year, he arrived in Israel without being able to speak Hebrew and completed a language preparatory program before enlisting, Adina Katz said. Family members attended his graduation from training a few weeks ago, Caprio said.

“He gave it his all and finished his beret march with a smile,” said Adina Katz, who moved to Israel before her brother.

Moshe Katz came from a family with deep roots in New Haven's Jewish community, and because of his faith felt a strong connection to Israel and its people, said Rabbi Yehoshua Hecht, a relative in Connecticut.

“He wanted to do something more and that something more was going though basic training and joining the Israel Defense Forces to protect life and limb of the people that he loved,” Hecht said.

In his post on Facebook, Katz's father recalled his son's “zest for life” and his love of laughter with those around him.

In a statement Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Katz had “fought bravely in defense of the homeland.”