Israel-Hamas war
Lt. Col. Salman Habaka was among the first Israeli troops to arrive in southern Israel after the Oct. 7 attack
An Israeli tank commander hailed as a hero for his actions during the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Be’eri, the scene of one of the worst massacres on October 7, was killed while commanding his tank battalion in northern Gaza.
Lt. Col. Salman Habaka, 33, a member of Israel’s Druze minority, had stormed into Be’eri with his troops when news of the Hamas attack broke on the morning of Oct. 7 and two tanks were brought into the kibbutz, the members said of militants attacked Islamist group in houses where they were hiding.
He is the highest-ranking officer killed during the IDF’s ground operation in the Gaza Strip, bringing the Israeli military’s death toll to 18 since the ground invasions began last weekend.
Habaka was among the first Israeli troops to arrive in southern Israel as the full scale and horror of the Hamas attack became clear, and later described his role in the fighting in Be’eri in a video interview.
“I arrived in Be’eri to see Brigadier General Barak Hiram and the first thing he asks me to do is to fire a grenade into a house [where Hamas were sheltering],” he said.
“The first question that comes to your mind is: Are there hostages there? We did all the pre-checks before we decided to fire a grenade into a house. And then we went from house to house to free the hostages. And so the fight continued until the evening. In the kibbutz and on the street.
“I realized that as soon as people heard the rumbling of the tanks, they suddenly had a moment of safety. The moment that is imprinted in my memory is that I am driving on the road and realize that I am about to enter an Israeli community where there are cowards who have taken advantage of the holiday to invade the community “who killed, slaughtered and kidnapped older children and babies”.
Habaka’s death, reportedly while his tank was supporting an advance, came as more details emerged about the fierce nature of the fighting in Gaza. Hamas and Israeli soldiers fought in close quarters, and Hamas claimed it dropped drone munitions on Israeli troops.
In one incident, Israeli troops fought a three-hour battle against dozens of Hamas militants who had ambushed them.
According to reports of the ambush, about 30 armed Hamas fighters emerged from tunnels equipped with anti-tank missiles and attempted to penetrate Israeli armored personnel carriers, but failed.
Israeli troops are advancing on Gaza City along three main routes – from the northeast, from the northwest along the Mediterranean coast and from the south after reaching the territory’s main north-south highway. Israeli officials have made only vague statements about troop movements.
Air strikes destroyed homes in the Jabalia refugee camp near Gaza City on Tuesday and Wednesday. The number of dead and wounded remains unknown. Israel said the attacks killed militants and destroyed Hamas tunnels.
Palestinian militants fired anti-tank missiles, detonated explosive devices and threw grenades at Israeli troops during a nighttime battle, the Israeli military said on Thursday. It said soldiers returned fire and called in artillery and attacks from a helicopter and a naval ship. The report could not be independently confirmed.
Casualties are expected to mount on both sides as Israeli troops advance toward Gaza City’s densely populated residential neighborhoods.
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