Maj. Peleg Salem, 30: Career logistics officer and dad of 4 daughters

Maj. Peleg Salem, 30, a logistics officer in the 460th Brigade, was killed battling the Hamas invasion of Yakhini.

The morning of the attack, Peleg, a career IDF officer, was home in the small moshav of Yakhini, next to Sderot, with his wife and youngest daughter. When he heard that Hamas gunmen had arrived at the gate of his town, he grabbed his weapon and headed out to battle.

For around two hours Peleg fought back against the invading Hamas terrorists, killing a number of them, before he was shot and killed.

He was buried on October 10 in Rosh Haayin. He is survived by his wife, Yuval, four daughters, Noya, Tal-or, Tamar and Alma, his parents, Sigalit and Yitzhak, and his three siblings, Almog, Shunit and Shahaf.

Born in Rosh Ha’ayin, the third-oldest in the family, Peleg grew up in an observant family and attended religious schools, according to an IDF eulogy. He was a natural-born leader, his family said, and even as a kid would talk about and dream about joining the army.

Peleg attended a pre-military boarding school for high school, part of the Or Etzion yeshiva in Merkaz Shapira. In July 2012 he enlisted in the IDF and was placed in the Givati Brigade, including fighting during the 2014 Gaza War. He signed on to stay in the army past his mandatory service period, and also completed an officers’ course.

He met and married Dganit, and the couple lived in Netanya, bringing Noya, Tal-or and Tamar into the world before divorcing.

After becoming an officer, Peleg returned first to Givati before moving to serve as a brigade logistics officer with the 460th Brigade in the Armored Corp. That is where he met Yuval, a fellow officer, and the couple married in 2022 and settled in Yakhini, where their daughter Alma was born in 2023 — less than two months before Peleg was killed.

He was also a talented musician, playing the drums and guitar, would keep up regular workouts and in his limited free time loved to read. During his time in the army, he also received a degree in logistics from Sapir College in Sderot and also wrote and published a book aimed at sharpening the management and commanding skills of logistics officers and commanders.

Peleg’s sister, Almog, wrote on Facebook on what was supposed to be his first wedding anniversary with Yuval, sharing a video of him walking to the huppa with his three daughters, “and there was nobody who wasn’t moved.”

“God wanted you and took you to Him after you gave your soul for all of us and for the country that you loved and admired so much,” she added. “I wanted you to know that we haven’t forgotten and will never forget the beautiful family you built, our Yuvali, Alma, Noya, Tal-or and Tamar, who we will watch over forever — for you and for us. You left behind treasures that we are holding onto in order to stay strong and move forward… We know that was your life’s mission.”

Marking a year since he was killed, Peleg’s wife, Yuval, wrote on Facebook that when they met, “you caused me to grow wings so I could go beyond myself and soar.”

“It has taken a year of war to accept reality, to learn to live without you, without the home we built together full of love, without the dreams we dreamed together, but with a lot of love in my heart, and gratitude for the privilege of four years by your side that felt like an entire lifetime,” she wrote.

“You made me the best version of myself, I thank you every day for the tools you left me for life, for being allowed to learn from you, for all the good you left me… the girls and our Alma are the treasure that contains all of you.”

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