Col. Asaf Hamami was killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and his body taken back to Gaza, the IDF announced on Saturday, approving the publication of his name among the murdered, nearly two months after Hamas’s rampage through southwestern Israel.
Hamami, 41, from Kiryat Ono, was a commander in the IDF’s Southern Division.
Three other colonels were killed on October 7, but he is the highest-ranking officer whose body was taken into Gaza.
His funeral is scheduled for Monday at 11 a.m. at the Kiryat Shaul Cemetery.
Petah Tikva Mayor Rami Greenberg later took to Facebook to mourn the fallen IDF commander.
“Colonel Hamami and his family recently moved to Kiryat Ono, but for years they lived in the city – and his grandmother, as well as his roots, are deeply planted in Petah Tikva,” Greenberg wrote.
'Story of the Hamami family is the story of the country'
“The story of the Hamami family is the story of the country,” he wrote. “Colonel Hamami’s grandmother, who still resides in the Ein Ganim neighborhood, lost her son in Israel’s wars – and now her grandson. We share in the family’s profound grief. May his memory be for a blessing.”
Also, over the weekend, another four hostages taken captive by Hamas on October 7 were announced as being dead.
The body of Ofir Tzarfati was recovered by the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) in the Gaza Strip. He was subsequently brought back to Israel. Tzarfati was an electrical engineering student abducted from the vicinity of the Re’im base on October 7. His body was identified by medical and military rabbinate personnel along with the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Israel Police.
Guy Ilouz, 26, who was abducted from Re’im, was a music and sound technician who had been a participant at the Nova Music Festival on that fateful day. He worked with prominent Israeli musicians including Shalom Hanoch, Matti Caspi, and the band, HaYehudim.
Ra’anana Mayor Chaim Broyde mourned the loss of the young man, saying he was “heartbroken, as hope was replaced by a great pain.”