Amnon Bezalel, 64: Retired police officer who loved to travel
Murdered in a terror attack in Alexandria, Egypt on October 8, 2023
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Amnon Bezalel, 64, from Bat Yam, was murdered in a terror attack in Alexandria, Egypt, on October 8, 2023.
An Egyptian police officer inspired by the Hamas attack on Israel a day earlier opened fire on a group of Israeli tourists in the city, killing Amnon and Alon Shamli. A third Israeli, Hagai Efrat, was flown back to Israel for treatment but later died of his wounds. Their Egyptian tour guide was also killed.
Chilling footage from the scene shows the loved ones of those wounded calling out frantically for help while Egyptian officers stood nearby.
Amnon’s body was brought back to Israel and he was buried in Holon on October 10. He is survived by his two daughters, Liat and Sapir, his mother, Leah, and his siblings Tami, Ronen and Dror.
Born and raised in Tel Aviv, Amnon attended local schools in the city, according to a state obituary. After graduating he enlisted in the IDF and served in the Intelligence Corps.
In April 1980, he survived the terrorist invasion of the northern Kibbutz Misgav Am.
After his release from the IDF, Amnon wanted to continue to serve his country and joined the Israel Police.
He served in the police force for close to 40 years, before retiring in February 2022 with the rank of command sergeant major. Most of his service was with the Holon Police, and his final job role was technology coordinator in the Ayalon District.
His loved ones said Amnon was a devoted dad to his two daughters, loved to travel, sing, dance, work out at the gym and enjoyed history. His nickname was “the angel.”
“Amnon loved travel so much, he was always the center of parties, he’d go to the gym every day,” his sister, Tami, told a local news site. “He was very social, he always had a smile on his face. He was optimistic, modest, helped and assisted everyone. Everyone called him ‘the angel.’”
His daughters told the site in a statement that “we did everything together. Family trips, parties, we worked out together – the family was super unified. We don’t know how to go on without him.”
The Times of Israel Community.