Those we have lost

Cpt. Yotam Ben Bassat, 24: Elite unit commander with ‘a huge soul’

Killed battling Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Re’im on October 7

Cpt. Yotam Ben Bassat (IDF)
Cpt. Yotam Ben Bassat (IDF)

Cpt. Yotam Ben Bassat, 24, a commander in the Multidomain Unit, from Bat Hefer, was killed on October 7 battling Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Re’im.

Yotam, a commander in the special ops unit also known as the “Ghost” unit, was on base that weekend and jumped into action with the start of the attack. He and others in the unit were sent south to Kibbutz Re’im to battle the Hamas gunmen who had invaded, killing and kidnapping many in the community.

“Yotam linked up quickly with the local security team there, understood the situation and led the fighting,” his comrade told Ynet. “He kept pushing us forward and we started to go house by house [rescuing those inside].”

During the firefight, Yotam was killed alongside the commander of the unit, Col. Roi Levy, after he was shot just above his ceramic vest, and was evacuated to a hospital but died of his wounds.

Yotam was buried on October 10 in Netanya. He is survived by his parents, Tami and Benny, and his younger brothers Rom, 19, and Noam, 14.

He grew up in Bat Hefer, outside Netanya, and was a talented tennis player, even winning local tournaments, as well as a dedicated fan of the Maccabi Netanya soccer team.

Yotam enlisted in the IDF in March 2018, serving first in the Duvdevan commando unit before being recruited in 2020 to join the elite Multidomain Unit, which had been established by the military chief of staff just a year earlier. He reupped following his mandatory service period, and had been slated to be released just six days after he was killed, his family said. Yotam, they said, had big plans and dreams for his post-army life, including traveling abroad and eventually starting his studies.

His comrade, who met Yotam during their basic training, described him to Ynet as “a small guy, not tall, not big, not strong, but he had a huge soul… he was the sucker who would volunteer for everything. There were nights when we’d return to base after a tough night and we had to do guard duty, everyone 20 minutes, and Yotam would say, ‘Go to sleep, it’s all good, I’m not tired,’ and do it for us. He preferred that we’d sleep well and he would suffer silently.”

Therefore, he added, on October 7, “when he volunteered first and jumped into action, it wasn’t a surprise, because he was always like that — but this time it cost him his life.”

Yotam’s cousin, Chen Raz Banai, recalled on Facebook how “all my life I was by your side,” even remembering attending his brit mila, and begging to be allowed to babysit, “even though you’d spit up on me every time.”

“A mischievous boy with a captivating smile, who became a modest, wonderful man, who was always there for everyone, who everyone loved,” she continued. “We even got our driver’s licenses together, I told you that you couldn’t pass your test before I did. We spoke so much about your army service and what you would do, and then about when you would finally get out… I’m sorry, my Yoyo. I’m sorry.”

In a post marking a year since Yotam was killed, his father, Benny, recalled him coming home just a day earlier, bringing with him piles of laundry, “sitting and drinking the espresso you loved” and talking about his plans for his upcoming release from the army.

Right before his slated release, Yotam was scheduled to take part in a joint training exercise in the United States with the US Army, and he said goodbye to his family that day, not expecting to see them again before his flight: “You went one by one and hugged us all and we wished you a good trip,” wrote Benny. “I accompanied you to the car, I hugged you and I think I even snuck in a little kiss on your cheek… If only we had known if was goodbye forever.”

“Yotam, it’s been a year since we met, and I still live with the feeling that you’ll come back. Every Friday I wait for the call from you, ‘Dad, I’ll be home in 40 minutes, what is there to eat?’ The meals aren’t the same meals, the supermarket shopping isn’t the same shopping, the holidays aren’t the same holidays, the trips abroad are just an escape. The world isn’t the same without you.”

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