5/23/2024–|Last updated: 5/24/202403:04 AM (Mecca time)
An officer with the rank of colonel in the Israeli army, he was born in 1982 and joined the army in 2001. He held several positions throughout his career, the last of which was commander of the Southern Brigade in Gaza band.
Israel announced his death in an operation Al-Aqsa flood launched by the Palestinian resistance on settlements Gaza cover On October 7, 2023.
However Izz al-Din al-Qassam BrigadesThe military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (agitationShe confirmed that he was a prisoner, and that he was injured in the operation, and left information about his fate ambiguous.
Assaf Hamami is considered the highest-ranking officer, whose death was announced by the Israeli army in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
Birth and upbringing
Assaf Hamami was born on December 2, 1982. His family comes from the city of Petah Tikva in central Israel, then moved to the city of Kiryat Ono in the Tel Aviv Governorate.
He is married and has 3 children: Erbil, Aron, and Ella. His wife is named Sapir. His father is Ilan and his mother is Clara.
His uncle, Eitan Hamami (born August 1965), was also an officer in the Israeli army, and he died in an accident during training in July 1985, as a result of which he spent 13 days in intensive care.
Military life
Assaf Hamami joined the Israeli army in 2001, and served in Givati Brigade.
He served in the Maglan Unit and was appointed commander of the Ramon Unit in 2012. He also served as commander of the Negev Brigade, and commander of the Oz Brigade training school.
He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 2015 and was appointed deputy commander of the Northern Brigade of the Gaza Division, a position he held until late September 2016.
At the end of September 2016, he was appointed commander of the Tzabar Brigade, and continued in that position until August 27, 2018.
He then supervised the establishment of the “Courage” Brigade in the Israeli army and headed it until July 2020, then assumed command of the Negev Brigade (12th Infantry Brigade in the Israeli army) until May 2022.
On May 29, 2022, he assumed command of the Southern Brigade in the Gaza Division, a position he held until Israel announced his death on December 2, 2023, in the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, which occurred about two months before that date.
Killed or captured?
On December 2, 2023, Israel announced that Assaf Hamami was killed in the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7, 2023, and said that Hamas fighters took his body with them to Gaza strip.
The Israeli army said that Hamami was killed in clashes with Al-Qassam fighters in Kibbutz Niram, and he notified his family of this.
A symbolic funeral was held for Assaf Hamami in the Kiryat Shaul cemetery in Tel Aviv, attended by senior military and political leaders in Israel, including the commander of the Gaza Division, Brigadier General Avi Rosenfeld, and the Minister of Defense. Yoav Galant.
However, on May 25, 2024, the Al-Qassam Brigades broadcast a video recording in which it confirmed that the commander of the Southern Brigade in the Gaza Division was its prisoner, and that he was injured in the October 7 attack, leaving information ambiguous about his fate.
In the video, the Al-Qassam Brigades described the Israeli leadership as “a leadership that leaves its army leaders captive.”