Overview
- Joshua Boone was buried in a civilian ceremony at the New Beersheba Cemetery after officials declined military honors.
- He was found dead near his home in Beersheba after a recent PTSD diagnosis, and no cause of death has been made public.
- Boone served more than 700 days in reserve duty, reported as 748, including frontline sniper roles in Gaza and Lebanon since Oct. 7, 2023.
- Because his death occurred off duty about two weeks after his last reserve stint, policy blocked automatic fallen-soldier status, though the IDF says the circumstances appear service-related.
- Friends, lone-soldier groups, and Knesset members have appealed to Defense Minister Israel Katz as an online petition nears 30,000 signatures.