Yaakov Dery wearing Talit & Tefillin hours before he was killed in a mortar attack.

 Sergeant First Class (Res.) Saadia Yaakov Dery was photographed during morning prayers in Gaza hours before he was killed in a mortar attack. The photograph is the last image of Saadia alive.

The photograph shows Saadia wearing a talit prayer shawl and tefillin.

Saadia, 27, lived in Tel Aviv. He was a student at the Yaffo Yeshiva, married, and the father of two children ages two and one.

Laly, Saadia's mother, said, "My Saadia was a child who prioritized everyone's wishes before his own. He did much more than expected of him in every field. He was a wise student, studied for rabbinic exams, and started his bachelor's degree in teaching. He studied every free minute and had a great sense of humor. He was an amazing father to Haleli and Yinon. He was a hero in soul and body and never complained. On October 7th, he was with us when he was called for duty. Saadia loved this people, loved the Torah and the land, and fought for it," the mother eulogized.

She addressed Israel's leaders directly: "Since the beginning of the war, I was silent; now I have an obligation not to be silent. I will not allow the enormous sacrifice we made and my fallen son to be in vain. In Saadia's name, we demand victory and absolute resolve. My son did not fall for the sake of a diplomatic arrangement but for a complete victory over the enemy."