Eli Yitzhak Ben-Bashat (; 1979 – 12 December 2023) was an

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

(IDF) officer with the rank of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. He served as the commander of the

Yiftach Brigade The 11th Brigade (also known as the Yiftach Brigade) is a reserves unit in the Israel Defense Forces, composed mainly of fighters that completed their compulsory service in the Egoz Unit, Unit 621 – 'Egoz'. History In the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...

, the commander of the

Paran Brigade The 512th "Paran" Brigade is an Israeli regular infantry regional brigade that is subordinated to the 80th Division (Israel), 80th Division and traditionally associated with the Southern Command (Israel), Southern Command. The Paran Brigade was es ...

, a team commander at the Tactical Command College, and the commander of the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion. On 12 December 2023, in the battles of

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

he was killed. He, Asaf Hamami, Roi Levy and

Yonatan Steinberg Yonatan Steinberg (; 1980 – 7 October 2023) was an officer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) with the rank of colonel, who served as the commander of the Nahal Brigade, 933rd "Nahal" Brigade. He had previously served as the commander of the ...

are the most senior IDF officers killed in this war.

Career

Ben-Bashat grew up in Neve Tzuf. He enlisted in the IDF, was placed in the

Golani Brigade The 1st "Golani" Brigade (, ''Hativat Golani'') is an Israeli military infantry brigade. It is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. It is one of the five infantry brigades of the regular Is ...

, and was accepted into the

Egoz unit The Egoz Unit (, lit. "Walnut Unit", Egoz being the acronym for "anti-guerrilla and small-scale warfare"), officially Unit 621, is an elite Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commando unit specializing in anti-guerrilla warfare, special reconnaissa ...

. He underwent training as a fighter, completed an infantry commanders course, and an infantry officers course. After finishing the course, he returned to the Egoz unit and was appointed a team commander. Later, he served as the commander of a support company in Battalion 51. Subsequently, he served in the Sayeret Shaldag unit and held several command positions. He was then appointed the deputy commander of the Egoz unit and served in this role during the

2014 Gaza War The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge (, ), and Battle of the Withered Grain (), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that has been governed by Hamas since ...

. During the war, he temporarily replaced the unit commander, Yonatan Rom, following his injury. In January 2015, he was promoted to the rank of

and appointed commander of the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion, a position he held until 22 June 2016. Afterwards, he served as a team commander at the Tactical Command College between 2016 and 2018. On 22 August 2018, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and appointed commander of the Sagi Brigade. During his tenure, on 28 November 2018, the brigade was disbanded and replaced under his command with the Paran Brigade. He served in this role until 18 August 2020. Subsequently, he was appointed a team commander in the company and battalion commanders' course between 2020 and 2021. On 8 August 2021, he was appointed the commander of the Yiftach Brigade, a position he held until September 2023.

Death

Ben-Bashat was among 10 Israeli soldiers killed 12 December 2023 in an

ambush An ambush is a surprise attack carried out by people lying in wait in a concealed position. The concealed position itself or the concealed person(s) may also be called an "". Ambushes as a basic military tactics, fighting tactic of soldi ...

by Palestinian fighters in

Shuja'iyya Shuja'iyya (), also ''Shejaiya'', ''Shijaiyeh'', ''Shujayya'', ''Shuja'ia'', ''Shuja'iya'', is the southern quarter of Old City of Gaza, and the only quarter of the Old City located outside the historical city walls. It is one of the largest neig ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ben-Bashat, Yitzhak 1979 births 2023 deaths Israeli military personnel killed in the Israel–Hamas war Israeli soldiers

Career

Death

See also

References