An indictment was filed today (Thursday) against Sergeant Major (Res.) Aviad Frigah, a reserve fighter who returned from Gaza, a year after the attack in Givat Shaul where he attempted to neutralize terrorists and accidentally shot Yuval Kastelman. He was charged with the offense of manslaughter under circumstances of diminished responsibility. The indictment was filed by the military prosecution after a thorough investigation by the military police and following a hearing regarding his case.
IDF: “We share in the sorrow of the Kastelman family”
The IDF’s statement details the sequence of events. “On November 30, 2023, during a deadly shooting attack at the Givat Shaul intersection at the entrance to Jerusalem, Yuval Kastelman arrived at the scene of the attack and acted to neutralize the terrorists,” the statement read. “Present at the scene was Sergeant Major (Res.) Aviad Frigah, who also acted to neutralize the terrorists.”
Regarding the incident of the accidental shooting, it was stated: “Immediately after the terrorists were neutralized, Frigah shot Yuval Kastelman despite another soldier standing nearby calling for him to stop shooting. Frigah continued to fire at the mid portion of Yuval’s body, even though Yuval raised his hands, removed his jacket, held no weapon, and posed no danger. This shooting resulted in the death of Yuval.”
Yuval Doron Kastelman,38, from Mevaseret Zion, sacrificed his life while neutralizing terrorists who killed three Israelis at a bus stop. Kastelman saw the incident as he was driving, stopped his car, charged toward the terrorists and neutralized one of them.
Yuval’s family shared at the time that he served as a lawyer in the State Commission. “Yuval noticed the attack from the other side of the road while he was driving to work at the government headquarters and stopped his car to neutralize the terrorists. He had previously served in security forces and was always a hero, the first to jump in and save lives, and he did so this time as well,” they stated.
Frigah’s lawyers: “One of those painful and inevitable cases”
Frigah’s attorneys, Shlomi Tzfari and Ran Cohen Rukberger, stated after the indictment was filed: “We regret that the military prosecution did not stand up to the media pressure and is now seeking to rectify the tragedy of Yuval Kastelman’s tragic death through another injustice against our client.
“The tragic incident in which Yuval Kastelman, OB”M, lost his life falls into the category of those painful and sometimes inevitable cases, where due to good faith errors during combat and operational activities, the lives of innocent people are cut short. As such, the incident is not suitable to be adjudicated in a criminal process. In any case, reserve soldier Aviad Frigah is not a criminal, but also a hero who saved lives.
“The soldier found himself at the scene of the attack while he was returning to the battle in Gaza. He endangered his life when he charged towards the terrorists alongside others in a face-to-face battle and acted with courage, and hit them as they were killing three civilians and injuring 13 others. As will be proven in court, the soldier acted in complete good faith and with a sincere belief that he was stopping the slaughter, saving lives and neutralized the one he believed was the third terrorist in the incident, after hitting the first two.”
