The Israeli authorities have identified 44 soldiers and military personnel and 30 security personnel killed during Hamas attacks in Israel over the weekend. Israeli media report that one of them was a Israeli-Lithuanian policeman, Martynas Kuzmickas.
The death of the Israeli-Lithuanian policeman was reported on Facebook by the author Sergei Kanovich, citing the Israeli media Ynet.
Alkas Paltarokas, an activist who knew Kuzmickas in his youth, confirmed to LRT.lt that the death of the Lithuanian was first reported by Israeli sources.
“I knew him personally from my youth, as he is a scout from the same Kernavė group. He was very active, friendly and wonderful,” Paltarokas told LRT.lt.
According to Paltarokas, Kuzmickas emigrated to Israel after 1995 and pursued a “military career”. They have not been in contact recently.
The Foreign Ministry later confirmed that the deceased was a man with dual Lithuanian and Israeli citizenship.
“According to the information available to the Foreign Ministry, Martynas Kuzmickas, a dual citizen who served in the Israeli police, was killed while defending Israel against Hamas terrorists. The ministry expresses its condolences to the family and friends of the deceased,” it wrote in a statement.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
