After Hamas attacked on October 7, 22-year-old Omer Balva returned from the United States to rejoin his IDF reserve unit, only to be killed by a Hezbollah missile five days after leaving America.
By Hezy Laing
In Maryland, as Omer Balva prepared to return to Israel after the October 7 attacks, he and his childhood best friend, Ethan Missner, went shopping for military equipment their reserve unit needed. They bought knee pads, elbow pads, earmuffs and other supplies, with Missner’s father helping cover the cost.
The two friends had planned to meet in New York, but the Hamas massacre changed their plans. Instead, Missner traveled to Maryland to spend time with Balva before he returned to Israel.
Their final days together included an intimate Jewish ritual. According to reporting in The Forward, the friends put on tefillin, the small leather boxes and straps worn during Jewish prayer. It was a personal moment amid the uncertainty of a war that had suddenly changed both their lives.
Missner’s family remembered Balva as someone who rarely sought attention or recognition. His mother, Shani Missner, recalled, “He never talked about himself. He never bragged. He always just had a huge smile on his face.”
Ethan’s description was equally direct: “He was the sweetest kid ever.”
Balva flew back to Israel on October 15. Five days later, the 22-year-old reserve soldier was dead, killed by an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon while serving near Israel’s northern border.
From Maryland to the IDF
Balva was born and raised in Rockville, Maryland, to Israeli parents, Eyal and Sigal Balva. He attended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, graduating in 2019 after studying there from elementary school onward.
His interests extended well beyond the classroom. He enjoyed theater, played soccer, and was involved in his school and community. Friends and classmates remembered his warmth and the ease with which he connected with people.
Although he grew up in the United States, Balva chose to build his future in Israel. After graduating from high school, he moved there and enlisted in the IDF.
He served in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion and completed his regular military service before beginning civilian life. He later studied business administration and economics at Reichman University while maintaining his connection to military service.
His time in uniform was not simply a chapter he had left behind. When the country came under attack, he was prepared to return to the responsibilities he had accepted as a soldier.
He chose to return
When Hamas launched its October 7 assault on Israel, Balva was traveling in the United States with his girlfriend, Odelya. The couple had been in Los Angeles when the attacks began, before he went to Maryland to be with his family.
As reports of the massacre spread, Balva wanted to return to Israel. His father initially tried to persuade him to wait, concerned about the danger he would face.
But Balva was determined to go back.
He arranged a flight and returned to Israel on October 15. Two days later, on October 17, his father drove him north as he prepared to rejoin his reserve unit. According to the family interview published by Ynetnews, father and son held hands, hugged, and talked during the journey.
For his father, it was a painful goodbye. For Balva, it was a return to his responsibilities at a moment when Israel was mobilizing reservists to defend the country on multiple fronts.
His decision also meant leaving behind the people and plans that filled his life in the United States and Israel. He had family and friends who loved him, university studies to continue, and a relationship he hoped would lead to marriage.
Three days on the northern front
Balva was called up for reserve duty on October 17, 2023. He served as a squad commander in the Alexandroni Brigade’s 9203rd Battalion, taking up his responsibilities as Hezbollah intensified its attacks across the Lebanese border.
The northern front had become increasingly dangerous. Hezbollah was firing rockets and anti-tank missiles into Israel, threatening communities near the border and prompting repeated exchanges of fire with the IDF.
On October 20, just three days after his call-up, Balva was killed near Netu’a in northern Israel. An anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon struck during the fighting. Three other soldiers were wounded in the same incident.
He was 22 years old.
Balva’s final days had unfolded with extraordinary speed. He had been in the United States with his girlfriend and family, spending time with his best friend and preparing to return to military duty. Within days, he was back in uniform and had lost his life in the fighting.
He was buried at the military cemetery in Herzliya. His parents and three siblings were left to mourn a son and brother whose future had been cut short.
The future he had planned
Balva’s death came as he was beginning to build a life beyond the army. He was studying business administration and economics at Reichman University, preparing for a career and the next stage of adulthood.
His relationship with Odelya was central to those plans. According to the family interview, Balva had bought a ring and intended to propose to her.
It was a future that would never arrive: a proposal he had planned, a career he was working toward, and years he expected to spend with the people closest to him.
His family wanted the way he lived to be remembered, not only the circumstances of his death. They established the “Be Kind as Omer Balva” initiative to encourage acts of kindness and support charitable efforts in his memory. A scholarship fund was also established for Golani soldiers.
Those efforts give his memory a personal focus. Friends remembered a young man who was generous, unassuming, and quick to smile; his family has chosen to honor him through acts intended to benefit others.
Omer Balva returned to Israel when his country was under attack, leaving behind family, friends, and a future he was preparing to build. His life ended on the northern front three days after he was called up, but his family’s efforts to carry his memory forward remain rooted in the qualities those who knew him best continue to describe.
