9:38 a.m. November 12, 2023
A heroic Israeli tank commander was killed saving civilians after attacking Hamas terrorists
An Israeli tank commander from the country’s Druze minority killed in combat in Gaza should serve as a symbol for all Israelis that the country must unite to defeat the darkness, the soldier’s father, the highest-ranking military officer yet to be killed said Fox News Digital.
Lt. Col. Salman Habaka was hailed as a hero after Hamas’ surprise mass terror attack in Israel on October 7, after he seized two tanks and set out to fight thousands of Palestinian terrorists even before his own commanders realized what was happening. Less than four weeks later, on November 2, 33-year-old Habaka was killed by a Hamas sniper as Israeli forces deepened their ground assault on Gaza.
Stories of heroic acts committed by Israelis in stopping Hamas’ terror attacks have put a spotlight on some of the country’s minority communities, which have also done their part to prevent further terror. Israel’s non-Jewish population is about 20%, including Muslims, Christians and Druze, an esoteric, monotheistic religion that includes elements of all Abrahamic religions and other philosophies.
“On the morning of October 7, we had a family event planned,” Habaka’s father, Emad Habaka, told Fox News Digital from his home in the Druze village of Yanuh Jat in northern Israel. “I called him to see if things were still going on, but he told me he had to return to his base immediately. When I asked him why, he just told me to turn on the TV.”
While the elder Habaka, like most other Israelis, was still trying to figure out what was happening in southern Israel on the Gaza border, his son – already a decorated IDF commander – raced to his base in the Negev Desert to get his tank .
“He somehow understood what was going on and even though he received no orders from his commanders, he decided to get his tank and go into battle,” the 60-year-old father said, describing Salman, a father of one, as humble and respectful person who always did what he could to help other people.
Ruth Marks Eglash of Fox News contributed to this report