Col. Itzhak Ben Basat, 44: Senior IDF officer and father of 4

Col. Itzhak “Benba” Ben Basat, 44, head of the Golani Brigade chief’s forward command team, was killed on December 12 along with eight other soldiers in an ambush in Gaza City.

He was laid to rest a day later at the military cemetery in Kfar Tavor. He is survived by his wife, Adar, their four children, Eshhar, Arbel, Ido and Omer, his parents Rafi and Edna and his sisters Tzipi, Hamutal and Anat. He was predeceased by another sister, Sivan.

At the time of his death, Ben Basat was the most senior IDF officer to have been killed in the ground offensive against Hamas.

At his funeral, his wife Adar said she had found it impossible to pen his eulogy: “All night I tried to write, I couldn’t get to it and my heart is dying over saying goodbye,” she said. “This morning I woke up and we cried, the kids and I. Five broken hearts that love you and are connected to you.”

“Over the past few years you invested so much in your relationship with each one of them,” Adar added. “You built a true and moving connection. Thank you for choosing me, for choosing us, thank you for our joint journey and for everything. Thank you for the trip that was supposed to celebrate your release from the army in the US and Mexico, which was the achievement of all of our dreams. Thank you for giving me the sense that you were really coming back, and we would make up for all of the other vacations [we didn’t take]. I embroidered dreams for both of us and some of them I will have to accomplish without you.”

His mother, Edna, said in her eulogy: “In my eyes, you were invincible. I was sure that you had special protection. There are many things I want to say about you, you are my child, unique and special. You devoted your life to protecting the land… you were a leader and an initiator. Golani was  your home. You served always on the edge, and when you decided in the summer to complete your service, we were so happy that you made it out healthy and whole.”

The head of the IDF Personnel Directorate Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor recalled that Ben Basat was at home on vacation ahead of his slated retirement from the IDF when the October 7 massacre happened. He raced to the front lines, jumped into a jeep to help rescue residents under fire near the Gaza border, and decided to remain in the military once the war broke out.

“From the moment you fell, I started running through our first meeting in my head. A short meeting was enough for us, you stood out with quiet leadership, strived for contact, set norms, and joined the group that every battalion commander dreamed of,” he said. “Together we grew, and I learned a chapter in responsible leadership from you. We will continue in your spirit until victory.”

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