Shin Bet agent Amir Maimoni, 29, from Moshav Zohar in southern Israel, was killed Tuesday night on operational duty near the Gaza Strip. Thousands gathered on Wednesday to lay him to rest at the military cemetery at Moshav Noga. Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen, who eulogized Maimoni, confirmed that he was killed by friendly fire from a fellow unit member. The Shin Bet, Israel's clandestine internal security agency, opened an investigation into the circumstances leading to the tragic incident. Eulogizing Maimoni, Cohen said: "This was another necessary and complex operation in which you took part as a fighter and commander, same as you have done these past two years since joining our ranks. You did this out of a sense of duty and desire to contribute to the security of the people and country. "Your family ... which is deeply rooted [to the country] and is sadly no stranger to bereavement, instilled in you the values, sense of duty and desire to contribute. Unfortunately, there was a tragic operational development that took place last night during a mission in the field. As a result, a fellow Shin Bet officer misidentified [Maimoni] and shot at Amir, hitting him. All efforts to revive him were for naught." Maimoni's father, Efraim, said of his son: "We don't know what Amir did within the framework of his job, but we know he was a hero. We are so proud of him, and last Saturday evening he brought his girlfriend home for the first time, and we were so happy. "He was a wonderful son, an angel in the form of a human, a perfect person with a heart of gold. And because everything he did was with love, he always did it the best way possible. When he decided he wanted to join the [Shin Bet], I said why put yourself in danger, do something else. He told me, 'I want to do something I love. Money isn't everything in life.' For him, joining the Shin Bet was the pinnacle." Maimoni was the third of four siblings. The Maimoni family, as stated, has experienced tragedy in the past. His uncle died of cardiac arrest during a soccer game at 17 years of age, and Amir, who was born a year later, was named after him. A year after that another uncle, Aharon Maimoni, was killed during his military service. In July 2014, during Operation Protective Edge, a rocket struck Amir Maimoni's armored personnel carrier in Gaza's Shujaiyya neighborhood. Luckily, Maimoni and his comrades emerged from the incident unscathed. "You could say Amir had a macabre sense of humor, and as noble as he was with an angelic spirit, he spoke about death very freely with everyone," said his aunt. "He knew risking his life was part of his job, which is why he laughed about death, as if he knew that one day it would come." In a WhatsApp group chat with friends, Maimoni told them that if he was killed he wanted them to gather at the Matilda pub they co-founded and drink a beer in his honor, and to hang the best picture of him they could find on the wall.
