File: Family and friends of Col. Asaf Hamami mourn during his funeral in Kiryat Shaul Cemetery in Tel Aviv, December 4, 2023. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
Thousands of people including senior military officers and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attend the funeral for Col. Asaf Hamami, 41, the commander of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade, who was killed in the fighting during the October 7 Hamas assault.
Gallant eulogized Hamami, one of the most senior officers to fall in the war, saying that he had led his troops valiantly on the day of the terrorist massacre.
“Assaf did not hesitate, he was there ready to charge the enemy,” Gallant says. “His voice declaring war over the radio reverberated throughout the field.”
Gallant called him “an exemplary family man, a respected commander, and one of the best that have emerged in the IDF in recent years.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant eulogizes Col. Asaf Hamami who was killed in the October 7 assault on Israel at his funeral in Tel Aviv on December 4, 2023 (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
The IDF announced Saturday that Hamami, who had been missing since October 7, was killed on that day and his remains are being held by the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.
Hamami, 41, was recognized as a “fallen soldier held by a terror group,” the IDF said.
However, his death was only recently declared by the chief rabbi, based on findings obtained by the military in the Gaza Strip.
The findings allow for a funeral for Hamami according to halacha, or Jewish law, but his body remains in Gaza.
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 4, 2023
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