First Sergeant Moshe Naftali of Ofra, who was killed in the terror attack on Route 12 near Eilat last August, will receive a posthumous citation from the Head of Southern Command, IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz has confirmed.

First Sgt. Naftali, who was 22 when he was killed, was part of a Golani force that was sent to defend the bus that was the first target attacked by the terrorists after they infiltrated from Egypt.

“While the event was a tragic and severe one, its results could have been even worse had it not been for the actions of First Sgt. Moshe Naftali,” said Southern Command Head, Maj. Gen. Tal Russo.

“As the head of the Intervention Unit, First Sgt. Naftali strove for contact with the enemy as soon as he understood that a terror event was happening. He disrupted and prevented a deterioration of the incident and an exacerbation of enemy actions,” the IDF Spokesman’s Unit said in a statement.

Besides First Sgt. Naftali, six civilians and a Border Police “Yamam” special forces man were killed in the attack. Several dozen suffered varying degrees of wounds. 

IDF paramedic Cpl. Anastasia Begdlov has received a military citation from Head of the IAF Manpower Department, for her bravery during the August 18, 2011 attacks.