Staff Sgt. Michael Ben Hamo OBM fell in battle at Kissufim: ‘A person you look up to’
A 22-year-old Golani commander fell on Simchat Torah, his final Sabbath in the army. His father, sister, partner and friends describe a curious, thoughtful man deeply connected to the present, who believed a meaningful life requires choice, and stood by that belief to the end. “He’s someone you look up to,” his sister says. “He always knew he was part of the chain of generations of the Jewish people,” his father adds.
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Michael Ben Hamo was the third of four children. “A beautiful blond boy with green eyes,” his father Meir recalls, “with a big smile and cheeks that were always flushed.” He was a child who loved life, moving from one thing to another, at times dreamy but always opinionated. Over the years, his father says, that trait developed into impressive knowledge across many fields. “Whatever he loved, he learned to do as well as possible.”
Michael was born October 22, 2001, in Rehovot, the son of Yael and Meir, and brother to Ohad, Noa and Asaf. He studied at the state religious Tachkemoni school and later at Amit Amichai Yeshiva in his city. Even as a teenager, he stood out for his ability to connect people. “He was the axis of several circles of friends,” his friends say. “People loved being around him, and he loved people.” He was active in Bnei Akiva, the religious Scouts and later with Magen David Adom. The desire to do good led him there. “When he touched something,” his father says, “it was his personal touch. It became his life.” Even as he matured and began asking questions, he chose his own path. “He didn’t leave religion,” his father clarifies. “He simply found his own way.”
A people person
Michael was a people person, a true friend, a loving partner, someone whose presence calmed others. “There was something about Michael that calmed you,” his sister Noa says. Sometimes it was through words, sometimes simply by putting on a song. His father says, “music was an entire world for him. He made playlists for every occasion, knew music deeply and was a real music enthusiast.” He was also “very funny, an entertainer and an impersonator, he knew how to capture different angles of people.”
With his partner, Tamar Goldberg, he formed a deep and steady bond. “From the moment our eyes met, there was a click,” she says. “I saw him and he seemed like ‘the one.’” Michael was a romantic, flowers every week, sometimes delivered. “A deep and sensitive person,” she says, “who truly cared.” “He was a people person with an incredible number of friends, from high school, youth movements, delegations abroad.”
Connection to the land and spirit
After finishing school, he attended the pre-military academy Meitarim Lachish in Beit Guvrin and later Midreshet HaArava in Ein Yahav. There he worked in agriculture, waking at 5 a.m. to labor in greenhouses, then sitting to study the Bible with a cup of tea. “He had a strong connection to the present,” his sister says. “To always be wherever he was.” During that period, he wrote extensively. A personal journal accompanied him, filled with reflections on life, mission and meaning. “If you don’t truly have a sense of direction for your life, why are you living?” he wrote. Those words were not theory for him, they were a way of life.
A beloved and professional commander
On March 21, 2021, he enlisted in the IDF and was assigned to the 12th Battalion of the Golani Brigade. His friends describe a meticulous, thorough soldier who approached every mission with ease and a smile. At the end of training, he received a company excellence award, went on to a squad commanders course and continued in command roles. He later served as platoon sergeant of the sniper unit. “He was a commander admired by his soldiers,” his friends say, professional, principled, connected to the brigade’s heritage. They nicknamed him “the educational sergeant.” When discipline was required, he chose an educational approach, learning about a fallen soldier and delivering a lesson in his memory. “His soldiers were his top priority,” they say. “He cared about the small details, knew how to listen, encourage and demand professionalism out of love.”
“He had a connection with every soldier. He was loyal to them, unique, a person full of values.”
The final Saturday
His service was nearing its end. He planned to rent an apartment with a friend and travel abroad. It was his final Sabbath on base. Tamar remembers how he left his necklace with her, as he always did, “until he comes back.” On the eve of Simchat Torah, his father wrote him: “Come on, Michael, two more days and you’re home.”
On Saturday, October 7, 2023, at 6:29 a.m., the surprise attack caught him during dawn alert duty. Michael was serving as a reconnaissance force commander and set out with four fighters in a Humvee along the border fence near the Kissufim outpost. After calming Tamar and leading the force to a fortified shelter, he went out again following reports of terrorist infiltration. The vehicle encountered a terrorist squad. Three soldiers were wounded. Michael and Staff Sgt. Adi Tzur exited the vehicle and charged forward. They fought face-to-face, eliminated terrorists and delayed others while the wounded were evacuated. In doing so, they saved their comrades and helped defend the kibbutz and the outpost. Michael and Adi were considered missing for days until they were found.
A life of meaning
Staff Sgt. Michael Ben Hamo fell in battle on the 22nd of Tishrei 5784, October 7, 2023. He was 22. He was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Rehovot. His absence is felt every day since then. “Nothing is whole without Michael,” his sister says. Yet she adds that the lessons he taught her remain with her. According to his friends, “He knew how to give thanks for life, to understand that life is a gift. To look at the sky, at the clouds.”
His partner Tamar wrote, “You are my home… In your life, too, you were an angel and a hero.” His friend Moshe Hartman commemorated him in song, and students at his yeshiva chose to hold a wedding for a couple in need, “a legacy of life.” “He is always with us in the memories,” his father says wistfully. “We have a little Michael, a small living Michael, who was born about four months after Michael fell. He’s a reminder of what Michael always knew, that he is part of the chain of generations of the Jewish people.” He once wrote: “My forefathers dreamed of reaching a land where they could defend themselves, and I stand before that privilege.” He said it, and he did it.
Thus Michael is remembered: a man who lived by choice, led by values and believed that life has meaning only if you are prepared to give everything.
May his memory be a blessing.
Staff Sergeant
Michael Ben Hamo OBM