New Haven-Born IDF Soldier Dies In Lebanon

By Thomas Breen, New Haven Independent

NEW HAVEN, CT — A 22-year-old Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier who was born in New Haven died this weekend during combat in southern Lebanon.

Sgt. Moshe Yitzchak Hacohen Katz “fell in battle in Lebanon,” according to a Facebook post published at 8:56 p.m. Saturday by his father, Mendy Katz, an active member of the Beaver Hills community. “My oldest Son with a zest for life and jokes.”

Katz, who is also part of the neighborhood’s Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic Jewish community, wrote that his son’s burial was scheduled to take place Sunday in Israel. “My heart is shattered and the wound is real. May he be a malitz yosher for only good things.”

In a post published on Instagram on Sunday morning, the IDF identified Katz as “a soldier of the 890th battalion, Paratroopers Brigade.”

In a separate post published on X at 2:37 a.m. Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote that Katz immigrated to Israel from the United States, “enlisted in the Paratroopers Brigade, and fought bravely for the defense of our homeland. On behalf of all Israeli citizens, we embrace Moshe z”l’s family in this difficult hour and wish a swift and complete recovery to our fighters who were wounded in that incident.”

Katz’s death comes as Israel has opened a second front in Lebanon after the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran a month ago.

The New Haven Independent is a not-for-profit public-interest daily news site founded in 2005.