Israel's highest ranking hostage returns for burial – Who was Col. Asaf Hamami?

Thousands of people on Tuesday morning arrived at the funeral of Colonel Assaf Hamami, the senior-most IDF officer to be killed in the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. 

Among those present at the funeral were former IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, current IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, former Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Yaron Finkelman, former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, President Isaac Herzog, Minister Gila Gamliel, and the coordinator for the Prisoners and Missing Persons headquarters, Gal Hirsch. 

Col. Hamami was the commander of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade on the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israeli communities. He was the first IDF officer to declare a state of war that morning as he called to deploy more units. 

"We are at war, deploy alert teams, deploy camp defense teams for the settlements, deploy special units, we are at war,” Hamami shortly before being wounded in a firefight with terrorists.

Along with fellow soldiers Tomer Ahimas and Kiril Brodsky, Hamami rushed to Kibbutz Nirim, where he quickly realized the situation was far more severe than expected. Shortly after radioing for additional forces, he was shot by a Hamas terrorist and carried to a shelter by Brodsky and Ahimas. The three then continued to fight off the overwhelming number of terrorists infiltrating the kibbutz – at one point facing off against dozens of Hamas fighters. 

The last signal received by any of the three was at 7:05 a.m., when Ahimas radioed the base asking for help for Hamami. 

Hamami's remains were returned on Sunday and identified at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir, along with the remains of the deceased abductees, Captain Omer Neutra and Sergeant Oz Daniel. There was a concern among some government officials that Hamas would hold on to Hamami’s body, since he was the highest-ranking officer to be killed on Oct. 7. 

The remains of Ahimas and Brodsky were recovered on July 25, 2024, during a rescue operation in Khan Younis. 

Hamami's father, Ilan, said that his son spoke about the possibility of being captured before his death, and said, “If I fall into captivity, I will not go there alive. Don't make deals for me.” 

“You stood by your word and did not enter there alive, and we stood by your principles out of the family strength that was instilled in us,” Ilan said at the funeral. “You were the first to go into battle as a soldier of the people of Israel.” 

Hamami's mother, Clara, mourned him, saying, “My eldest son, a hero of Israel, who fell in the heroic battle with Tomer and Kirill and was kidnapped, has returned home to his homeland.” 

“How can one even write you a eulogy instead of a greeting?” she asked. “How can one pick up the pieces when the head and heart refuse to connect with each other and believe?” 

Hamami is survived by his widow, Sapir, and three children – Ella, Alon, and Arbel. 

At the funeral, Sapir said she was relieved that her husband's body had been returned to Israel. 

“My beloved. I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're home, in your country that you loved,” Sapir said. “I wanted a different ending so much, but this is probably the best ending I could think of since October 7. Knowing that you are here gives me a breath of fresh air.” 

“I know that the return of abducted soldiers was a supreme value for you,” Sapir continued. “In our country, no one is left behind. I know you'd like to be the last, to know that no one is left behind, but it didn't happen – you're not the last.” 

IDF Staff Chief Eyal Zamir praised Hamami’s combat skills and leadership, recounting how the commander inspired so many soldiers. 

“Hamami, in your last photo, which has been with me for two years, I look at your receding back as I quickly skip behind you, the commander of the Southern Command behind the outstanding Sabra Battalion Commander who possesses combat prowess that filled your subordinates and your commanders with envy and great admiration,” Zamir said.

“I ran after you in the Givati ​​Brigade, charging together toward a target on the horizon, as generations of fighters who looked up to you did, as even your battalion commander did, on the morning of October 7th, ready to charge with you in front of any enemy and fight to the death.”

Zamir continued: “Rest in peace, war hero, because victory has been achieved and we continue to fight to continue to win. I assure you that the victory achieved through the strength of the people's army and the people's unity will continue to give us the strength to continue to build, grow and also fight with that unity that is essential to our existence.” 

President Isaac Herzog eulogized Hamami: “Dear and beloved Assaf, here you are, back to us after more than two years in the hands of the murderers. More than two years since that terrible morning when you fell, the morning when you announced on the radio, as we just heard, with cool composure amidst the slaughter and destruction and chaos and the tumult of God that prevailed outside, you said, ‘Commander here, declaring war.’ With clarity and without fear, you immediately understood that this was war, and as always with you, you were the first to arrive, to strive for contact, to gallop forward and to charge the enemy."

Herzog continued: “You fought with all your might, with fierceness, shoulder to shoulder with your subordinates, Tomer and Kirill – may their memory be blessed – to save the lives of the residents of Kibbutz Nirim and all the residents of the western Negev, and you fell with them a heroic death, in the battle of the forces of light against darkness.”