Maj. Or Ran, 29: Elite unit commander loved his motorcycles and jeeps

Maj. Or Yossef Ran, 29, a commander in the Duvdevan commando unit, from the West Bank outpost of Givot Olam, was killed on October 7 battling the Hamas invasion of Kibbutz Kfar Aza.

With the start of the Hamas attack, Or immediately jumped into action and headed down south to join up with his comrades near the front line, bringing along his nephew, Harel, who served under him in the unit. Along the way they encountered and battled several groups of terrorists, before arriving in the besieged Kfar Aza around 8 a.m.

After hours of rescuing residents and engaging in firefights with the terrorists, Or’s armored vehicle was hit by an RPG, according to Israel Hayom, and when he and others jumped out they were ambushed by volleys of gunfire. Or was hit in the head and when his nephew came to help rescue the wounded, he realized it was his uncle, and watched him take his last breath as they waited for him to be evacuated via helicopter.

Or was buried on October 10 in Givot Olam. He is survived by his parents, Sharona and Avri, and his nine siblings, Bitya, Mika, Sara, Daniel, Pinhas, Bat Ami, Ben-Hai, Sne and Porat.

He was born and raised in the West Bank outpost of Givot Olam, established by his father near the settlement of Itamar. He was part of a controversial family known for its settlement activism and brushes with the law as well as clashes with Palestinians in the northern West Bank.

Or was the 8th out of the 10 Ran siblings, and grew up on the family’s farm, deeply involved in the agricultural lifestyle, working the land and spending most of his time outside, on a tractor or sleeping in a tent. He loved spending time in the field on his motorcycle, wearing paths out in the wilderness with its tires.

In 2012 he enlisted in the IDF in the Infantry Corps, going on to command a mobility squad, later moving from the [Unit 5515] combat mobility unit to the Duvdevan mobility unit.

His sister, Mika, told the Makor Rishon newspaper that “Orush was a hero, but that’s not what defined him. He loved life itself, and he was so fun and a prankster, alongside the fact that he lived with high idealism and values, with a full sense of mission and deep gratitude. It was very clear to him what he was doing, but it wasn’t heroic. He was a simple man, who loved life.”

Mika said Or “was a pedant. He was constantly tinkering with everything. From age 4 he had a toolbox… He had three motorcycles and two jeeps, those were his great loves. And the field. We keep looking at his photos again and again, and all of the pictures of him are from treks out in the field. His life was outdoors. He was a free soul, but very tidy and organized.”

Another sister, Bat Ami, wrote on Facebook to “Orush. Our love. So much pain. So much sadness. So many broken hearts.”

“Turn the light on for us. It’s so dark here,” she added. “Look what we lost. We will continue to light things up, my love. You’re probably already making jokes with everyone up above. Driving the angels crazy. Laughing at us females with all of our crying. Seriously, this joke isn’t funny. Come back.”

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