'Three years without my Asaf': Mother of soldier killed on Oct. 7 pleads for truth - opinion

Clara Hamami, mother of Col. Asaf Hamami killed on October 7, 2023, writes a personal plea for a state inquiry into the disaster. She recounts her son's final moments commanding the Southern Brigade, his abduction and return after 758 days, and calls for an independent commission to investigate what happened, regardless of political divisions.

Clara Hamami, mother of Col. Asaf Hamami who was killed on October 7, 2023, publishes a deeply personal opinion piece marking three years since the attack. She recounts the morning of October 7 in vivid detail: the rockets, the sirens, and her son's calm commander's voice over the radio ordering emergency squads to full combat footing. Asaf Hamami, commander of the Southern Brigade, left the base with his command team Tomer and Kiril to face dozens of terrorists. He was critically wounded, fell alongside his team, and was abducted to Gaza. He returned home wrapped in an Israeli flag after 758 days. Clara describes visiting his grave at Kiryat Shaul, reading his last WhatsApp messages about home and dinner, and the unbearable reality that those visits are now the only ones left. She reflects on the societal fractures before October 7 and calls for an independent state commission of inquiry, arguing that the nation needs the truth — not the truth of the coalition or opposition, but the truth of the people. She urges that an investigation be established regardless of political debates over its structure.