Arab Druze IDF Officer Salman Habaka, Liberator of Be’eri, Killed in Battle Against Hamas in Gaza

Lt. Col. Salman Habaka, a career officer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who helped liberate Kibbutz Be’eri from Palestinian Hamas terrorists on October 7, was killed Wednesday while leading an armored column covering for infantry in northern Gaza.

According to the Times of Israel, Habaka, a Druze Arab, was the commander of the 188th Armored Brigade’s 53rd Battalion and came from the village of Yanuh-Jat in the Galilee, northeast of Haifa.

A fellow soldier in his unit told Israel’s Army Radio on Thursday that Habaka was a friendly and courageous soldier who was excited to be in the fight and was respected by his comrades.

The Druze Arabs are a community that lives in the northern part of the country and is loyal to Israel, even participating, alongside Israeli Jews, in the IDF draft. Military service is optional for other Arab citizens of Israel

A final video of Habaka was posted on a pro-Israel account on Instagram after his death, in which he is seen in front of his armored brigade, telling the world that they are preparing for battle in Gaza: “Nation of Israel: I expect you to continue to be united, to continue to be robust. … Because only together will we know how to win. … We have no other choice. This is the time to come together. This is the time to unite. This is the time to depend on one another, and to lead toward one goal: Victory. We have no other choice. Victory.”

 

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According to the Jerusalem Post:

During fighting between IDF ground forces and Hamas terrorists through Wednesday night, Habaka led his armored unit while covering for Golani soldiers, the IDF announced. Habaka was killed on the spot.

The Druze soldier originally arrived in the south on October 7, and was among the first to engage in battles with terrorists in Kibbutz Be’eri, killing dozens of terrorists. In a video sent from the field Habaka describes his unit’s first encounters in battle and declares “To victory! We have no other choice but victory.”

Kibbutz Be’eri is the site where Hamas committed some of its worst reported atrocities, including the murder of children, the torture of parents in front of their children, and the murder of a pregnant woman after cutting open her belly and killing her unborn child.

Outnumbered and outgunned local security forces fought the terrorists for hours, until the army was able to overcome ambushes on the roads leading to the area and to enter the kibbutz.

Habaka leaves behind a wife and a two-year-old child.

The IDF has continued to push forward into Gaza. On Wednesday night into Thursday, it fought off an ambush by over two dozen Hamas terrorists who emerged from tunnels, killing 20 with no Israeli casualties. The IDF plans to fight Hamas in the tunnels by indirect methods, at least initially, using robots to navigate the labyrinths and sealing the entrances to trap terrorists inside.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.