Calm, precise, and decisive, he radioed to his troops: ‘Everything is okay. We are at war. Forward!’
By The IDF Club
A large crowd gathered Tuesday at Tel Aviv’s Kiryat Shaul Military Cemetery as Israel laid to rest Colonel Asaf Hamami, whose body was returned from Gaza more than two years after he fell defending the nation on October 7, 2023.
Hamami, 41, commanded the Southern Brigade of the Gaza Division and was among the first officers to confront the Hamas invasion.
Stationed at the Re’im base when the attack began, he entered the operations center as rockets and mortar fire struck. Within moments, he assessed the scale of the assault near Kibbutz Nirim. Calm, precise, and decisive, he radioed to his troops: “Everything is okay. We are at war. Forward!” He immediately ordered all available forces and local rapid-response units into action.
With only two soldiers by his side — Staff Sergeant Tomer Achimas and Sergeant Kiril Brodsky — Hamami fought against dozens of terrorists, leading from the front until his final moments. The three were killed in combat, and their bodies were abducted into Gaza.
From the time he enlisted in the Givati Brigade in 2001, Hamami dedicated his life to service, rising through the ranks while maintaining a reputation as a mentor and a figure of calm authority.
He believed in the power of leadership by example, showing courage, compassion, and care for every soldier under his command. He received the Chief of Staff’s Award for Excellence in 2010 and commanded multiple units, including the Negev Brigade and the Commando Brigade’s training base, before assuming leadership of the Southern Brigade in 2022.
At the funeral, President Isaac Herzog described Hamami as “the first to charge forward and attack the enemy, fighting with all your might to save the people of Nirim and the Negev — falling a hero in the battle of light against darkness.”
Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir recalled his composure that morning: “We are at war, it is all right, war. That is how you declared over the radio, the first to understand the situation and take action… You led the battle from the front, embodying the very essence of the Israel Defense Forces.”
His name will forever stand among Israel’s finest — a commander who met terror with courage, led with calm amid chaos, and gave everything so others could live in peace.
