Thousands arrived this morning (Tuesday) for the funeral procession of Col. Asaf Hamami, commander of the southern brigade in the Gaza Division, at the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul.
Hamami, the most senior IDF officer killed in the October 7th massacre , was abducted by Hamas. His body was returned this week from the Gaza Strip.
The large crowd filled the ceremony plaza and came to accompany Hamami on his final journey. He is survived by a wife, three children, his parents and a brother.
Among the many attendees at the funeral were President Isaac Herzog, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Knesset member Benny Gantz, as well as former Chiefs of Staff Herzi Halevi, Gadi Eizenkot and Aviv Kochavi. Prisoners and Missing Persons Coordinator Gal Hirsch was also present, alongside comrades, colleagues, and family members.
After Hamami's father recited the Kaddish prayer of the bereaved, the burial ceremony opened with the playback of Hamami's last radio contacts from the first hour of the fighting, in which a caller was heard saying, "We are at war."
Chief of Staff Zamir eulogized, "You were a commander of courageous heart and inspiring professional judgment who above all believed in and nurtured the strength of your men and truly loved them. From that same professional judgment, you led missions into the heaviest fighting and carried the heaviest burdens."
"You went with a thermos of hot tea to every post in Hebron on bone-chilling cold nights to rehearse defensive drills with the fighters; you brought the battalion from the bottom of the rankings to first place in the fitness test; always 'to be the best version of himself', you demanded first of yourself and then of all your subordinates."
Asaf's mother, Clara, carried his dog tag and said, "Your dog tag is with me, day and night. I will never remove it."
Ilan, Asaf's father, shared what his son told him when he was a company commander in Givati. "'If I am captured, they will never take me alive. Don't make deals for me.' Asaf, we fulfilled your request only partially. Because you did not fall alone and wer note captured alone, and therefore a deal was made."