‘Fauda’ Crew Member “Killed in Action” in Gaza, Says TV Show
A Fauda crew member has reportedly died fighting in the Israel-Hamas War, according to the Netflix drama’s social media.
“We are devastated to share that one of our Fauda family members, Matan Meir, was killed in action in Gaza,” Fauda posted on Twitter. “Matan was an integral crew member. The cast and crew are heartbroken by this tragic loss. We extend our condolences to Matan’s family and friends. May his soul rest in peace.”
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Bill Maher on Actors Strike Ending, Screening of Hamas Attack Footage, Abortion Rights on the Ballot
IDFA Artistic Director Under Fire After Applauding "From the River to the Sea" Opening Night Protest
Gruesome Footage of Oct. 7 Hamas Atrocities Screens in Hollywood Under Heavy Guard
According to The Times of Israel, Meir was one of five Israel Defense Forces soldiers who died in a blast from a booby-trapped tunnel shaft in the northern Gaza Strip. Per The Times, their deaths bring the number of soldiers who have lost their lives in Israel to 42.
Many of Fauda‘s cast and crew had returned to Israel following Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Oct. 7. Lior Raz, who stars as Officer Doron Kabilio and also produces the series, has been among those who returned to front-line duty, along with series co-creator Avi Issacharoff and Israeli Democracy Institute’s Yohanan Plesner. Prior to the show, Raz was a soldier in an elite Israeli special forces unit.
Raz shared a video on his Twitter Oct. 9 that showed he had returned to his home country and was working to do everything he could to help.
“Accompanied by Yohanan Plesner @yplesner and Avi @issacharoff, I headed down south to join hundreds of brave ‘brothers in arms’ volunteers who worked tirelessly to assist the population in the south of Israel,” he wrote. “We were sent to the bombarded town of Sderot to extract 2 families.”
Fauda follows an anti-terrorist unit operating undercover in the West Bank and ended up being somewhat dramatically prescient with its season three finale, which saw two Israeli boys kidnapped and taken to Gaza.
“I played a soldier guarding an Israeli outpost who suffers a surprise Egyptian attack during the Yom Kippur War,” Guy Shalom, a Tel Aviv-born Fauda actor, explained when recently speaking to THR Roma following Oct. 7. “Who would have thought that 50 years later, Guy, the civilian, would feel just like my character, Yaron, the soldier?”
Best of The Hollywood Reporter