Dmitri Levitas, 26, Armored Corps commander, laid to rest on Har Herzl
Levitas, who made aliya from Uzbekistan at age 1 and resided in Jerusalem and Geshur, was killed by Hamas sniper fire Tuesday.
By DANIEL K. EISENBUD
Armored Corps Capt. Dmitri Levitas, 26, who was killed on Tuesday evening by Hamas sniper fire in Gaza, was buried at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem in a private ceremony attended by family and close friends on Wednesday afternoon.Levitas made aliya from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, at the age of one, and lived in Jerusalem and in Geshur on the Golan Heights. His mother lives in Jerusalem and his father in northern Israel.A talented athlete who played as a goalkeeper in his local soccer league, Levitas recently completed a company commander course. His family asked that no media attend his funeral.The IDF Spokesman’s Office has released limited information about Levitas and the circumstances of his death.Levitas’s friends refused to accept the news.“Dimi was a great brother and a great friend in every situation,” said a friend.“He was an idealist, and as his soul brothers we know that he loved and worried for all of his soldiers as if they were his own children.”As of Wednesday evening, 32 Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed, and more than 150 soldiers have been wounded, in the current campaign.Over the past 24 hours, two soldiers have been seriously wounded, 10 soldiers were moderately injured, and 20 soldiers were lightly wounded in Gaza.Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.