Salman Habaka
{{Short description|Israeli Druze military officer (1990–2023)}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Salman Habaka
| image = Salman Habaka.jpg
| native_name = سلمان حبقة
| native_name_lang = Ar
| birth_date = August 1990
| birth_place = Yanuh-Jat, Israel
| death_date = {{death date|df=yes|2023|11|02}} (age 33)
| death_place = Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip, Palestine
| death_cause = Killed in Action
| placeofburial = Yanuh-Jat
| allegiance = Israel
| branch = Israeli Ground Forces
| rank = Lieutenant Colonel
| unit = 188th Armored Brigade
- 53rd Battalion
| battles = {{tree list}}
{{tree list/end}}
| children = 1
}}
Sgan aluf Salman Habaka ({{langx|he|סלמאן חבקה}}; August 1990 – 2 November 2023) was an Israeli military officer who was killed in action during the Gaza war. Born in the Northern District village of Yanuh-Jat into a Druze family, he joined the Armored Corps of the Israel Defence Forces in 2009 and was subsequently appointed commander of the 188th Armored Brigade's 53rd Battalion. While fighting in the Gaza Strip in 2023, Habaka was killed by Palestinian militants.{{Cite web |author=ToI Staff |title=Senior IDF officer who fought Hamas in Be'eri killed in Gaza fighting |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/senior-idf-officer-who-fought-hamas-in-beeri-killed-in-gaza-fighting/ |access-date=3 November 2023 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US |archive-date=3 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103000259/https://www.timesofisrael.com/senior-idf-officer-who-fought-hamas-in-beeri-killed-in-gaza-fighting/ |url-status=live }}
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 "[https://mechinot.org.il/mechina/list/general/kerem-el-15 Kerem El]" pre-military training school and in August 2009 he joined the Israel Defence Forces and started his military career in the Armored Corps.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}
During the Gaza war, he became known for his actions at Be'eri, the location of the Be'eri massacre of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel; 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.{{Cite web |url=https://www.mako.co.il/news-military/6361323ddea5a810/Article-19acfd2b88f8b81026.htm |title=N12 - סא"ל סלמאן חבקה, גיבור הקרב בבארי, נפל בקרב בעזה |date=2 November 2023 |access-date=7 November 2023 |archive-date=4 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231104090652/https://www.mako.co.il/news-military/6361323ddea5a810/Article-19acfd2b88f8b81026.htm |url-status=live }} On 2 November 2023, he was killed in action in Gaza during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.{{cite news |last1=Beaumont |first1=Peter |title=Israeli tank commander hailed as hero after Hamas attack is killed in Gaza |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/02/israeli-tank-commander-hailed-as-hero-after-hamas-attack-is-killed-in-gaza |access-date=3 November 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=2 November 2023 |archive-date=3 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103012449/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/02/israeli-tank-commander-hailed-as-hero-after-hamas-attack-is-killed-in-gaza |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Wu |first1=David |title=Hero senior Israel soldier who led October 7 defence killed fighting Hamas |url=https://www.skynews.com.au/world-news/hero-senior-israeli-soldier-lt-col-salman-habaka-33-responsible-for-killing-dozens-of-terrorists-on-october-7-dies-fighting-hamas/news-story/cd7c430a456078664088c658eede5eeb |access-date=3 November 2023 |work=skynews |date=2 November 2023 |language=en |archive-date=3 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103014146/https://www.skynews.com.au/world-news/hero-senior-israeli-soldier-lt-col-salman-habaka-33-responsible-for-killing-dozens-of-terrorists-on-october-7-dies-fighting-hamas/news-story/cd7c430a456078664088c658eede5eeb |url-status=live }}
Personal life
A member of the Druze minority from Yanuh-Jat, Salman built his house, got married and started a family. Salman was described as a family man and a member of his community. He left behind his parents, three brothers and two sisters, a wife and a two-year-old baby.{{cite news |last1=Zitun |first1=Yoav |last2=Halabi |first2=Einav |title=A hero: Lt. Col. Salman Habaka, who fought in Be'eri, fell in battle in Gaza |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hyefibwmt |access-date=4 November 2023 |work=Ynetnews |date=2 November 2023 |language=en |archive-date=3 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103150408/https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hyefibwmt |url-status=live }}
See also
- Alim Abdallah (1982–2023) – Another ethnic Druze and IDF Lt. Col. from the same village of Yanuh-Jat, killed in the simultaneous 2023 Israel–Lebanon border clashes
- Casualties of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
References
{{reflist}}
{{Gaza war}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Habaka, Salman}}
Category:Israeli military personnel killed in the Israel–Hamas war
Category:People from Yanuh-Jat
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