Yossi Bachar | |
Birth Date: | 9 April 1964 |
Birth Place: | Israel |
Placeofburial Label: | Place of burial |
Allegiance: | Israel |
Religion: | Judaism |
Serviceyears: | 1983- |
Rank: | Aluf (Major general) |
Branch: | Israel Defense Forces |
Commands: | 101st "Peten" (Elapidae) paratroop battalion, Maglan Unit, 55th Paratroopers Brigade, Paratroopers Brigade, Gaza Division, IDF's General Staff Corps |
Unit: | Paratroopers Brigade |
Battles: |
Yossi Bachar (Hebrew: יוסי בכר; born 9 April 1964) is an Israeli Major general (Aluf) who commands the IDF's General Staff Corps.
Bachar was drafted into the IDF in 1983. He volunteered as a paratrooper in the Paratroopers Brigade, and in 1985 became an infantry officer after completing Officer Candidate School. During his career Bachar led the Brigade's Reconnaissance company,[1] 101st "Peten" (Elapidae) paratroop battalion[2] and Maglan Unit in counter-guerrilla operations in South Lebanon.[3] During Operation Defensive Shield he commanded 55th Paratroopers Brigade and afterwards he led the 35th Paratroopers Brigade in counter-terror operations in the Second Intifada. Bachar was then assigned to command the Gaza Division. In September 2014 he was appointed as the commander of the IDF's General Staff Corps.
On 7 October 2023, during the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, the start of the Israel–Hamas war, Bachar, who lives in kibbutz Be'eri, participated in the defense of his community during the Be'eri massacre, claiming to have killed 15 militants. Bachar's 81 year old mother Geula was killed in the attack. His nephew Edan Baruch was also killed and another nephew, Sahar Baruch, was taken to Gaza as a hostage and was subsequently killed in captivity. During the war he subsequently served as deputy commander of the IDF Southern Command.[4]