Staff Sgt. Omri Peretz, 20: Squad commander ‘surrounded by friends’
Killed battling Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Kissufim on October 7
Staff Sgt. Omri Peretz, 20, a squad commander in the Bislamach Brigade’s 450th Battalion, from Elyakhin, was killed on October 7 while battling terrorists invading Kibbutz Kissufim.
He was buried on October 15 in Elyakhin. He is survived by his parents, Orit and Ofer, and his two sisters, Amit and Adi.
The youngest child, he attended the Rabin pre-military academy and completed the Israel Defense Forces squad commanders’ course with honors.
Peretz previously served with the Paratroopers Brigade, and when the war broke out, he was serving with the Bislamach Brigade — the IDF’s School for Infantry Corps Professions and Squad Commanders in peacetime.
Omri was part of the first army force to arrive at the towns enveloping Gaza. After advancing toward Kibbutz Kissufim, the force fought at close range some 50 terrorists attempting to invade the kibbutz. Omri was killed along with his three soldiers, Staff Sgt. Regev Amar, Sgt. Matan Malka and Sgt. Bar Yankilov.
His parents told the Kan public broadcaster that after learning of his death, they slept in his room for three months: “You try to hang on to what is left. His bed, his smell,” said his mother Orit.
Omri’s parents were on vacation in Greece when the October 7 onslaught began, and his father told Ynet that he called his son, “and he told me he didn’t have much time, that they were being called up to the battle in the south. I asked him to stay safe.” When they arrived back at the airport in Israel, they got the news that he had been killed.
Omri’s sister, Amit, told Kan that she had last seen her brother two weeks before October 7, at her wedding. “I’m so sorry I woke up late on Saturday, because maybe if I had woken up early enough, I would have been able to talk to him.”
His father Ofer said over his grave: “Our Omriki, King Omriki. It is difficult to speak about you in the past tense, to imagine that we will no longer see your big smile at the door, as you throw your bag on the floor and say ‘I’m hungry, fix me some food.’”
He said he was so worried when he learned that Omri was heading to the front lines, “because I know you, my Omriki, you’re always the first to take charge. Our Omriki, you are an enlightened and enlightening child with an eternal smile, surrounded by friends and loved ones. How could you not be? Handsome inside and out. Mom and I have been blessed with an angel for a child.”
A representative of the IDF read a eulogy on behalf of Omri’s commander, who was unable to attend his funeral. He wrote, “I had the privilege of guiding you as you took your first steps as commander. You wanted the best for your soldiers, both in service and in battle. You were killed shoulder to shoulder with your comrades. An equal among equals yet leading them courageously.”
He added, “I truly love you. Everyone who knew you was privileged. Protect your parents, watch over them from above. The void you left will never be filled and thank you for the privilege of knowing you.”
In the IDF squad commanders’ course notebook, Kan reported, Omri had written: “People have fallen on this land for us to be able to live here peacefully, and now it is our turn to contribute all we can.”
