Staff Sgt. Tomer Barak, 20: Golani who was the glue of his friend group

Staff Sgt. Tomer Barak, 20, a Golani Brigade soldier from Petah Tivka, was killed on October 7 while battling the Hamas invasion of southern Israel.

The morning of the Hamas attack, Tomer was on a routine patrol near the Gaza border, next to the Paga IDF outpost, according to an IDF eulogy. When they realized that Hamas gunmen had infiltrated Israel, he and the other soldiers with him decided to exit their reinforced vehicles and fight them face-to-face. Tomer and several other Golani soldiers — including Sgt. Ido Binenstock, Staff Sgt. Itay Glisko and Staff Sgt. Itamar Ben Yehuda — were slain in the battle next to Paga.

Tomer was buried on October 11 in Petah Tikva. He is survived by his parents, Itai and Sharon, and his younger brother Tal.

Tomer’s close friend, Staff Sgt. Sahar Sudaei, was killed fighting in Gaza in May 2024.

Born in Modiin, Tomer grew up and went to school in Petah Tikva, a bookworm with a knack for languages and curiosity about the world, his family said. From a young age he dreamed of a combat role in the IDF, and worked out extensively to prepare himself, taking part in a number of preparatory courses and training.

After finishing high school, he spent six months at the Shahar pre-military academy near Ashkelon, before enlisting in Golani in April 2022. After his death, the academy decided to rededicate itself in his name to honor his memory. Despite not getting the unit assignment he was looking for, Tomer threw himself into army life, his parents said, even working out on weekends when he would come home exhausted from training; his motto, they said, was “no excuses,” and he successfully completed a squad commander’s course.

Tomer had been making plans for his release from the army, including working as a bartender to save up money before taking a long trip to South America with his cousin, Michael, who was just three months younger than him.

In an interview with La’isha magazine, his grandmother, Hava, noted that Tomer was the first grandchild on both wings of the family and was “enveloped with love on all sides.”

Hava said that while she tried to convince him not to pursue a combat role, noting two family members she had lost during wars, “Tomer tried to stay polite but he stood his ground. He told me, ‘Grandma, it’s OK.’ During his army service, Tomer did not stop excelling… He was always the first to volunteer, anytime there was a task, or they’d ask who would stay for the weekend, he would raise his hand.”

During the shiva mourning period, she said, all of his friends who came by “told us how funny he was, how he would make everyone crack up with laughter.”

Speaking to a sports news site, Tomer’s parents said in addition to devoting much of his time to fitness — including 5 a.m. workouts and spontaneous half-marathons — their son was a big fan of the Hapoel Jerusalem basketball team, a love he adopted from his parents and kept up despite not living near the city.

“Aside from being a very good soldier, he was a very sweet kid, smiling, a good boy, moral, witty, sarcastic and incredibly funny,” his parents said. “He was really the glue of his friend group, people stuck to him everywhere he went in every stage of his life.”

“On that Saturday, he did everything, everything he was trained to do to rise to the task,” they added. “He really did everything he could to protect the communities near Gaza, that’s what he enlisted for and that was his goal. He did what he loved, but sadly he didn’t succeed, it was beyond his capabilities even though he was in the best shape.”

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