About one thousand people on Thursday attended the funeral of Major (res.) Yitzhar Hofman, as he was laid to rest on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Yitzhar, a commander of the Shaldag elite platoon, 36 years old from Ashchar in the Misgav Regional Council in the Galilee, was killed on Wednesday in a confrontation near al-Shati in the northern Gaza Strip.
Yitzhar is survived by his parents, a brother, and sisters. He was married to Zohar and they have two small children, Be’eri and Harel.
Yitzhar was the ninth graduate of the Or Torah Neve Shmuel high school yeshiva killed in the Gaza war. He was one of the heroes of the battle at Kibbutz Be’eri, and one of the leaders of the military action at the Al Shifa hospital. Yitzhar was injured about two months ago in battle and returned to fight even before he had fully recovered.
"My Yitzhar, I am writing these words, and I don't believe it. I don't want to believe it. When they came to notify me, I didn't believe it," his wife Zohar said goodbye to him. "In the last four months I didn't worry, I trusted you. You were the best, the best of our soldiers. Everything you did, you did the best. I saw that you were so satisfied with your responsibilities and I couldn't have said otherwise. You came home with a sparkle in your eyes, and I felt connected to the mission. I was following you. Last Saturday I told you that it's hard for me to be happy and who can be happy after October 7th. You said to me 'Zohar, I want you to be happy and joyful.' How can I be happy, my love? You are the living spirit in our home. We had so many dreams together. We wanted to raise our children in peace, joy and love and I promise that I will try. I will raise those who are dearest to us. I will tell them what their father loved to do and what their father would do now. Yitzhar, it was a great privilege to be by your side. My heart explodes with pride for everything you are."
His commander, Major A., eulogized him and addressed the crowd. "Dear people, you have the right to stand here and say goodbye to the Bar Kochba of modern day Israel. To the Mordechai Anilevich of our times. A leader, a warrior, a commander, brave, smart, sensitive, and caring about details. Dear Hofman family, thank you very much for the values and education, the just path and the privilege you gave us to know Yitzhar. Sweet Harel and Be’eri, how much he loved you. How much he talked about you. Yitzhar, my dear brother, thank you for teaching us your way of life. Rest in peace. I love you.”
His mother Leah said: "My Yitzhar, how much I love you, how much I loved you. What a bond we had. I want to thank you for the 36 years that God has blessed us with. You were an amazing person. Thanks to you so many children came to our home, so many soldiers, all of them were our sons. They all knew where to make coffee, where there was cake, where there was a bed to sleep. Thank you for what you were. You are a mother's hero. They told me, 'You have a son who is a hero,' and I said, 'I want a son who is a live hero, to return from Gaza alive.' My love, I will continue everything you taught me, I will stay upright. Who will dance with me now at happy occasions? Hamas wanted to break us, and we will not crack."
"My little brother, my hero. You wanted unity in our nation so badly," Yitzhar’s brother Elon eulogized. "You don't know how much I looked up to you. When you were still a soldier, you debated whether to go to an officer's course. It is impossible to think that someone like you would not be an officer. You were convinced during Operation Protective Edge, when you realized that your place was leading the warriors. You were so focused on achieving your mission."