A New Zealand-born Israeli soldier killed fighting near the Gaza Strip was a huge All Blacks fan and his family considered Aotearoa their homeland.
Adam Agmon's family were planning a trip back to New Zealand when he had finished his service in the army, according to a friend who used to live with them.
Twenty-one-year-old Agmon was killed a week ago fighting Hamas on the first day of the conflict.
"They lost their son... their youngest son, their baby," family friend Gidon Silverman said. "I get emotional talking about it."
Silverman lived with the family in Wellington while he was studying and took care of Adam and his brother Yahel.
"Beautiful kids... and a beautiful family. Very community-focused, they were," Silverman said. "[They were] there working in the community - the Jewish community."
He said the Agmons quickly fell in love with New Zealand.
"They referred to it as their homeland - their other homeland.
The two brothers and their dad even have the All Blacks ink to prove it.
"You know what? They've probably seen more games in the last few years than I have myself," Silverman said.
Adam was a paratrooper in the army but little is known about his death on October 7.
"He was called in to head down to the south of Israel... and so, he got caught up in the front line."
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he wasn't in a position to share details about the case.
"It goes without saying that our sympathies are with the families of anybody who has been caught up in this tragedy."
Silverman, who now lives in Melbourne, said he spoke with the family before Thursday's funeral.
Oren, Adam's father, like so many in Israel right now, was struggling to contemplate a future without his child.
"When we started to talk about memories of New Zealand... that's when Oren started to get emotional."
