'What I Feared Has Come Upon Me': A Mother’s Final Conversation with Her Son, Just Before Hamas Murdered Him

Staff Sergeant Omer van Gelder was only 22 years old when he died in Jabalia, northern Gaza, yesterday, killed by an explosive device alongside two comrades from Israel’s Givati Brigade. A young man with a “heart bigger than his immense mind,” as his mother, Tehila, described him, Omer dreamed of becoming a doctor and spent his life volunteering, yet he saw his military service as a mission to ensure “October 7 wouldn’t happen again.”

A Life of Giving

Omer, the eldest son of Tehila and Hagai van Gelder, grew up in Maale Adumim, a settlement east of Jerusalem. From a young age, he was a giver: volunteering as a paramedic with Magen David Adom (MDA), working with children at Krembo Wings, a youth movement for kids with disabilities, and bringing his guitar to every gathering. “He played guitar and harmonica, always joyful,” his aunt, Naama Shtesman, told ynet studio on June 3, hours before his burial at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. “He’d say, ‘I love you guys so much,’ always thinking about how to bring joy.”

At Amit Eitan High School, Omer was a standout, a “talented, uplifting young man,” according to principal Daniel Bari. His homeroom teacher, Elior Ohana, remembered him as “full of love and responsibility for the collective,” always the first to volunteer, guitar in hand. “Omer is one of the finest fruits of this land,” Ohana said. The Maale Adumim municipality echoed the sentiment, calling him “one of the best sons” of the city, a young man who “loved the country” and “gave his life for the nation.”

Omer’s dream was to study medicine, but when the Israel-Hamas war erupted on October 7, 2023, he had already enlisted in the Givati Brigade two months earlier. “He was in continuous combat from the beginning of his service,” Tehila said. In his squad commander’s course, he earned an excellence certificate, reflecting his dedication as a leader. “He really wanted to bring back the hostages and fight for our country, so we could feel safe again,” his mother recalled.

The Last Conversation

On the eve of Shavuot, Omer called his mother, neither of them knowing it would be their final conversation. “He said they were doing very important things at night, but he couldn’t talk about it over the phone,” Tehila told ynet. “He was looking forward to seeing us and telling us.” In a family WhatsApp group, he wrote that “the nights were long and sleepless” and apologized for not calling earlier. Hours before his death, at 6:00 p.m., he texted Tehila, asking about a memorial for her sister and confirming he’d try to attend: “Got it,” he wrote. That was the last she heard from him.

Last night at 7:00 p.m., Omer, together with Staff Sergeants Lior Steinberg, 20, and Ofek Berhana, 20, were escorting a fire truck in Jabalia to extinguish a burning armored personnel carrier when Hamas detonated one of 20 pre-planted explosive devices, aiming for a mass casualty event, the IDF reported. The blast killed the three soldiers instantly. The Air Force struck back with drones and fighter jets to extract the convoy, but for the van Gelder family, the war’s relentless toll struck home again.

A Family’s Legacy of Loss

The van Gelders, who immigrated from the Netherlands decades ago, are a deeply Zionist family. Omer’s uncle, Ilan Galdor, described them as “a family that loves the country,” where every child volunteers for combat units, seeing it as a “mission” to protect Israel. But the family has paid a heavy price: Omer’s relative, First Sergeant (res.) Amar Galdor, a Golani fighter, was killed in Lebanon on November 19, 2024. “Six months ago, tragedy struck when Amar was killed,” Ilan said. “And now Omer.”

Tehila spoke of the family’s anguish: “Omer himself knew a lot of pain and loss in this war. His best friend, a fighter in the Golani Reconnaissance Unit, was severely injured in Lebanon.” For 606 days, she kept her door open, dreading the knock that would bring news of her son’s death. “I couldn’t bear it,” she said, quoting a Hebrew proverb: “‘What I feared has come upon me’ and they came.” The officers arrived at the end of Shavuot to deliver the devastating news.