TEL AVIV, Israel — As Israel's military raced to respond to Saturday's vicious terror attack by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip, troops and reservists were quickly called into action. Among those to answer the call was Aryeh Ziering, a 27-year-old Israeli-American who was at his parent's house when the phone rang. It would be the last time his family would see him alive.
Not far from his childhood home, Ziering was laid to rest on Monday.
"Aryeh, I sat in your room last night and it hurt because I could feel you," the soldier's mother said as she bid her son a last goodbye.
Ziering, the grandson of Holocaust survivors, remained in the Israeli military after his mandatory service — to protect his country, his parents Debbie and Mark Ziering, who moved to Israel from New York 28 years ago, told CBS News.
On Friday night, the family danced in their kitchen to celebrate the end of the Jewish holidays.
"Fifteen hours later, we get that knock on our door," the bereaved parents said. "Just, a knock you would never want to receive."
Ziering was among the first Israeli soldiers killed in action in southern Israel at the height of Hamas' brutal Saturday morning assault.
"As a parent in this country, you talk about that a lot," said Debbie, breaking down in tears. "You never want to get the knock on the door, with the two army officers outside… It was Saturday night, and we knew that was something not good, and this woman came in and she said to us, 'Your son was killed today.'"
"One of the things we're going through now," said Mark, "is he's still very present, and we feel his energy, but he's not coming back."
More than 1,200 people have been confirmed killed in Israel by the Hamas terror strike, including 14 Americans. At least 100 people are being held captive inside Gaza, including 60 Israelis whose families had been notified as of Wednesday and an unverified number of U.S. nationals.
For Debbie and Mark Ziering, despite the pain of losing Aryeh, they still hold out hope for a better future.
"This question of can and when, will there ever be peace… We believe in peace. We believe in coexistence," they told CBS News. "We don't want to eliminate anyone from this planet. Everybody should have a place to live."
They said it was something their son also believed in.
"Like I once carried you under my heart for almost a year, you will live on forever in my heart," Debbie Ziering promised her son.
