Salman Habaka ( he, סלמאן חבקה; August 1990 – November 2, 2023) was an
Israeli-Druze Lieutenant-Colonel in the
Israeli Defense Forces
Israeli may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel
* Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel
* Modern Hebrew, a language
* ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008
* Guni Israeli ...
, commander of the 53rd Battalion of the 188 Barak Brigade. He hailed from the
Druze
The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
village of
Yanuh-Jat
Yanuh-Jat ( ar, يانوح-جت, he, יָנוּחַ-גַ'תּ) is an Israeli Druze village and local council in the Northern District of Israel, northeast of Acre, consisting of the villages of Yanuh and Jat, which merged in 1990. In it had ...
.
Career
Salman studied at the
Acre Kzine Yam in middle school and high school, before the military recruitment he spent a whole year at the
Kerem El pre-military training school and in August 2009 he was recruited and started his military career in the Armored Corps.
From the beginning of his career, Salman's special qualities such as leadership and striving for excellence stood out, and very quickly he began to climb the ladder of military ranks as he held many significant positions in these years.
During the
2023 Israel–Hamas war
}
The ongoing armed conflict between Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups and Israel military forces began on 7 October 2023, 50 years after the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Hamas's coordinated surprise offensive, codenamed "Al-Aqsa Fl ...
, he became known for his actions at
Be'eri, the location of the
Be'eri massacre
On 7 October 2023, in the opening attacks of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Hamas militants carried out a massacre at Be'eri, an Israeli kibbutz near the Gaza Strip.
Around 70 Hamas militants of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, al-Qas ...
of the
2023 Hamas attack on Israel
A series of coordinated attacks, led by the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas, from the Gaza Strip into bordering areas in Israel, commenced on 7 October 2023, a Sabbath day and date of several Jewish holidays. Hamas meticulously pl ...
; he was one of the first soldiers to arrive in the area as the scope of Hamas' incursion was becoming known, having travelled in two tanks with a number of his soldiers to join a
paratrooper contingent already at the location. Upon the orders of lieutenant colonel Barrak Hiram, Habaka shelled houses before soldiers searched them for hostages. On 2 November 2023, he was killed fighting in Gaza, during Israel's
2023 invasion of the Gaza strip.
Personal life
A member of the
Druze
The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
minority from
Yanuh-Jat
Yanuh-Jat ( ar, يانوح-جت, he, יָנוּחַ-גַ'תּ) is an Israeli Druze village and local council in the Northern District of Israel, northeast of Acre, consisting of the villages of Yanuh and Jat, which merged in 1990. In it had ...
, In the years of his life, Salman had time to build his house, get married and start a family. Salman was a loving family man and a very active individual in society who always contributed. He left behind his parents, three brothers and two sisters, a wife and a two-year-old baby.
See also
*
Alim Abdallah
Alim Abdallah ( he, עלים עבדאללה; ar, عليم عبدالله; 1982 – 9 October 2023) was the deputy commander of the Israeli 300th Brigade of the 91st Division. Abdallah, a Druze Israeli, was killed by a Hezbollah strike while ...
(1982–2023) – Another ethnic Druze and IDF Lt. Col. from the same village of
Yanuh-Jat
Yanuh-Jat ( ar, يانوح-جت, he, יָנוּחַ-גַ'תּ) is an Israeli Druze village and local council in the Northern District of Israel, northeast of Acre, consisting of the villages of Yanuh and Jat, which merged in 1990. In it had ...
, killed in the simultaneous
2023 Israel–Lebanon border clashes
*
Casualties of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
A casualty, as a term in military usage, is a person in military service, combatant or non-combatant, who becomes unavailable for duty due to any of several circumstances, including death, injury, illness, capture or desertion.
In civilian usa ...
References
1990 births
2023 deaths
Israeli Druze
Israeli military personnel
Israeli military personnel killed in action
Military personnel killed in the Israel–Hamas war
People from Yanuh-Jat
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