JERUSALEM \u2013 An Israeli tank commander from the country\u2019s minority Druze community, who was killed in combat in Gaza, should serve as a symbol for all Israelis that in order to defeat darkness the country must unite, the father of the soldier, the highest-ranking military officer to be killed so far, told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n
Lt. Col. Salman Habaka was hailed as a hero following Hamas\u2019 surprise mass terror attack in Israel on Oct. 7 after commandeering two tanks and heading to battle thousands of Palestinian terrorists even before his own commanders realized what was happening. Less than four weeks later, on Nov. 2, Habaka, 33, was killed in action by a Hamas sniper as Israeli forces deepened their ground incursion into Gaza.<\/p>\n
Stories of heroic acts committed by Israelis in stopping Hamas terror atrocities have shone a spotlight on some of the country\u2019s minority communities who also played their part in preventing more terror.\u00a0Israel’s non-Jewish population is around 20%, including Muslim, Christian and Druze, an esoteric, monotheistic religion that incorporates elements of all Abrahamic religions and other philosophies.<\/p>\n
“On the morning of Oct. 7, we had a family event planned,” Habaka\u2019s father, Emad Habaka, told Fox News Digital from his home in the Druze village of Yanuh Jat, in northern Israel. “I called him to check if it was still going ahead but he told me that he had to go back to his base immediately. When I asked him why, he just told me to turn on the TV.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
CHRISTIAN IN ISRAEL EXPLAINS WHY HE EVACUATED HIS FAMILY, \u2018HEZBOLLAH IS A MUCH GREATER FORCE THAN HAMAS\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n On Nov. 2, Lt. Col. Salman Habaka, 33, was killed in action by a Hamas sniper as Israeli forces deepened their ground incursion into Gaza.<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n While the elder Habaka, like most other Israelis, was still trying to figure out what was happening in southern Israel, along the border with the Gaza Strip, his son \u2013 already a decorated IDF commander \u2013 was speeding to his base in the Negev desert to retrieve his tank.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n “He somehow understood what was going on and even though he received no orders from his commanders, he decided to get his tank and head into battle,” said the father, 60, describing Salman, a father of one, as a modest and respectful person who always did whatever he could to help other people.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Hamas terrorists left Kibbutz Be\u2019eri, a village near Gaza, in ruin.<\/span> (Tomer Peretz)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n According to Salman\u2019s own retelling a few days after Hamas\u2019 day-long rampage through southern Israel, murdering more than 1,400 people \u2013 civilians and soldiers \u2013 and taking some 240 people hostage, he rushed from his home, also in Yanuh-Jat, to join the fighting.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n “I drove from the Galilee to a base near Tze\u2019elim in order to get the tank and reach the community as quickly as possible to save every soul I could,” he recounted<\/u> to Israeli media outlets.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n IDF SAYS SOLDIERS TOOK CONTROL OF HAMAS MILITARY STRONGHOLD AS ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR CONTINUES<\/strong><\/p>\n Lt. Col. Salman Habaka with his mother, Mawaheb, and brother Tamer.<\/span> (Family of Lt. Col. Salman Habaka)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Arriving at Kibbutz Be\u2019eri \u2013 one of the communities worst hit by Hamas terrorists \u2013 Habaka said he joined the other soldiers fighting there.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I saw Col. Barak Hiram and the first thing he ordered me to do was to fire a tank round into the house,” Habaka told Israeli media. “The first question you ask yourself is whether there are civilian hostages in the house. We conducted all the preliminary actions before deciding to fire into the house, but as soon as we fired into that house, we were able to move from house to house and free the hostages. The fighting continued until evening, within the kibbutz\u2019s streets.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Later, Habaka said that what stayed with him was how cowardly the terrorists were, taking over civilian communities on a Jewish holiday in order to “murder, slaughter and abduct elderly people and infants.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Israeli tanks head toward the Gaza Strip border in southern Israel on Oct. 12, ahead of an anticipated ground incursion.<\/span> (AP\/Ohad Zwigenberg)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Heading into Gaza a few weeks later, Habaka told the soldiers under his command that he expected “the Israeli people to continue standing united, to continue to be resilient because only together will we know our strength.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The Israeli Druze community live in numerous villages dotted across northern Israel. They have had a presence in the region for at least a thousand years, and their communities are also found in Lebanon, Syria and parts of Jordan.\u00a0<\/p>\n BRAVE AMERICAN MURDERED WHILE CHARGING UNARMED AT HAMAS TERRORISTS WITH MACHINE GUNS TO SAVE THREE WOMEN<\/strong><\/p>\n Salman, his wife, Arin, with friends. Salman supported Israeli soccer team Maccabi Haifa.<\/span> (Family of Lt. Col. Salman Habaka)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Roughly 8% of Israel\u2019s Arab minority, which is roughly 20% of the country\u2019s population of 9 million, Druze are fiercely loyal to whichever state they live, and in Israel, most of the men serve in the military under a compulsory enlistment law.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n However, because the Druze speak Arabic, follow some Islamic practices, and have Arabic-sounding names, Jewish Israelis often confuse them with Israel\u2019s mainly Muslim Arab minority and, in the past, especially during periods of high tension between Israelis and Palestinians, they face some discrimination.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Emad Habaka said that following Hamas\u2019 brutal attack, it was time for attitudes in Israel toward the Druze, and other minorities, to change.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n “We are all citizens of Israel,” Emad Habaka told Fox. “We invest in this country, and we give our best sons up to fight in the army. There needs to be more focus on equality between Jews and other groups.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n “My son believed that the only way to defeat our enemies, the only way to defeat darkness, was to fight together,” Habaka said. “This is a strong message to all the people of Israel.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told Fox that the Druze had a special place in the cultural, religious and ethnic mosaic that is Israel.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n ISRAEL’S MILITARY COULD ENTER GAZA CITY, THE CAPITAL OF THE HAMAS-RULED GAZA STRIP, THIS WEEK: ISRAELI MEDIA<\/strong><\/p>\n Salman pictured here with his son. Salman’s father said while he is destroyed by his son\u2019s death, he also said he has found comfort in the fact that he died a hero.<\/span> (Family of Lt. Col. Salman Habaka)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “I\u2019ve had the privilege of knowing a number of Druze soldiers serving in the IDF,” he said. “They are courageous fighters and loyal patriots. Lt. Col. Salman Habaka lived and died as a hero. His memory is a blessing to his community and to all of Israel.”\u00a0<\/p>\n While the elder Habaka said he is destroyed by his son\u2019s death, he has found comfort knowing Salman died a hero. In the week since Salman was killed, his father described an outpouring of condolence calls from top military officials and some of the country\u2019s leadership, as well as many of those he saved from Kibbutz Be\u2019eri.<\/p>\n “He killed many of the terrorists and history will remember what he did there,” said Habaka, adding, “It took us two or three days to really understand what he did on Oct. 7\u2026 He went there based on instinct and he took his soldiers to save lives, I was so proud of him, only heroes do things like that.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/p>\n Asked how he views the ongoing conflict \u2013 especially as Israeli forces move deeper into Gaza and more soldiers and civilians stand to die \u2013 Habaka told Fox: “We did not choose this war, it was forced on us and we need to do whatever we can to protect the State of Israel.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n “I really hope that we can win this war, bring back the hostages being held in Gaza, and bring back peace,” he said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"IDF](\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1200\/675\/Lt.-Col.-Salman-Habaka.jpeg?ve=1&tl=1\")
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