Sgt. 1st Class Jawad Amer, 23: Druze commander had ‘a sense of mission’
Killed in a terrorists infiltration from Lebanon on October 9, 2023
Sgt. First Class Jawad Amer, 23, the commander of firing zone 150, from Hurfeish, was killed on October 9, 2023, battling terrorists who invaded from Lebanon.
Jawad was killed in a gun battle alongside Lt. Col. Alim Abdallah and Master Sgt. (res.) Gilad Molcho, all of the 300th “Baram” Regional Brigade, when several Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists infiltrated into Israeli territory from Lebanon. The clash occurred near the northern Bedouin Israeli town of Arab al-Aramshe and the Lebanese village of Dhayra.
Jawad was buried in Hurfeish on October 10. He is survived by his parents, Rashida and Akram and his older siblings Jodd, Nabih and Nawal.
His father, Akram, told Israel Hayom that Jawad “was an excellent student who loved programming and math and from childhood loved exploring nature.” Akram said his son loved the State of Israel, and most members of their Druze family had done extended military services, just like Jawad, “who felt a sense of mission, he felt he could give of himself.”
His older brother Jodd said Jawad “was very sporty, we would work out together 4-5 times a week, he loved to exercise. He also had a lot of friends, every weekend he would go out hiking or to the beach. He was a guy full of life, and everyone who met him, loved him.”
Jawad’s family said he dreamed of one day traveling the world, and had just returned from a trip to San Francisco a week before he was killed — but still had a long list of destinations he wanted to one day visit.
Jodd told a local news site that “Jawad was a friend and also a brother who accompanied me all the time, we were together everywhere, also abroad and also in our workouts.” Jodd, who was serving in reserve duty when his brother was killed, said Jawad was about to finish up his army service at the time of the attack, and planned to study electrical engineering and pursue a career in hi-tech.
“Despite his young age, Jawad leaves behind so many fond memories,” said Jodd. “He never argued with anyone, he helped so many people and trained lots of people at the gym, he helped youth get in shape and be accepted to elite units, Jawad was friends with everyone.”
In a Memorial Day video press conference, Jawad’s brother Nabih talked about his younger brother’s wide smile and laugh, and how he was “like a half twin.”
“I never imagined that one day I wouldn’t see his smile again or hear his laugh again,” he said. “Losing him was hard and Memorial Day will be the hardest ever and the most powerful because my brother gave his life to protect everyone.”
