21-Year-Old Soldier From Mizoram Killed in Gaza Clashes

Gary Lalhruaikima Zolat, lost his life on Monday during fierce clashes with Hamas militants in the northern Gaza Strip

A young soldier from Mizoram, Staff Sergeant Gary Lalhruaikima Zolat, lost his life on Monday during fierce clashes with Hamas militants in the northern Gaza Strip. The 21-year-old, serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the 92nd Battalion, Kfir Brigade, was stationed in Afula before being deployed to the conflict zone. His death came alongside three other soldiers, and his last rites were performed on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Israel time.

Zolat, born in 2003 in Kolasib, Mizoram, was the first member of the Mizo community in Israel to die in the ongoing conflict, which began following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

His family, including his father Dagan Zohmingthanga Zolat, was part of the first wave of the ‘Bnei Menashe’ community to move to Israel in 2006 under the “aliyah” provision, which grants Jews and their descendants the right to immigrate to Israel.

Zolat, the second youngest of four children, had elder sisters who are also serving in the IDF. His passing has prompted an outpouring of condolences from Mizoram, with many members of the community offering their sympathies on social media.

The Bnei Menashe community, originally from northeast India, was formally recognized in 2005 by Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar as descendants of a lost Jewish tribe. Many of its members, including Zolat’s family, relocated to Israel through the Law of Return.

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