IDF Chief Eulogizes Col. Asaf Hamami as ‘War Hero’ at Funeral After Body Returned From Gaza

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir eulogized Col. Asaf Hamami, whose body was returned by Hamas more than two years after he was killed and abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist onslaught.

Hamami, commander of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade, was killed fighting Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Nirim. The unit he led was responsible for the southern portion of the Israel-Gaza border.

“Hamami, you captivated everyone who met you with an unfeigned charm, including your subordinates and your superiors,” Zamir said at the funeral. “You led and guided with effortless authenticity.”

The chief of staff described Hamami as “a commander with a strength of heart and professional wisdom that inspired,” adding that he “believed in and nurtured the strength of your people and truly loved them.”

Zamir recalled awarding Hamami — then commander of the Givati Brigade’s Tzabar Battalion — a certificate of excellence for outstanding work while serving as Southern Command chief.

“I know that you would have continued to command in the highest positions of the IDF in the same way,” he said.

After Hamami’s death, Zamir said, commanders urged troops to act “with courage and determination like Hamami.”

“How proud you would have been of them, Hamami, of their heroism and of all our troops who led the IDF’s maneuvers in Gaza and countless arenas since that day of terrible failure, until victory,” Zamir continued.

He hailed the return of living hostages and a “victory achieved after two years of the most complex and powerful military effort we have known in the country’s history,” which he said reshaped Israel’s security approach to regional threats.

“Rest in peace, war hero, for the victory was achieved, and we continue to fight to continue to win,” Zamir said.

He vowed that the “cohesion of the people’s army and the nation” would fuel ongoing efforts “to build, to grow, and also to fight.”

“From here, we will carry the command ‘to be good — to be Hamami,’ forever,” Zamir added.