Aluf (res.) Yossi Ben Hanan () is a former Israeli general.
Early life Ben Hanan was born in Jerusalem, Mandate for Palestine in 1945. His father, Michael Ben Hanan served as one of the top Haganah commanders in Jerusalem.
Military career
Six-Day War During the Six-Day War, Ben Hanan was a lieutenant, serving as the operations officer of the 7th Armored Brigade. He was featured on the cover of Life magazine after the war which showed him triumphantly clutching an AK-47 rifle,Blum, Howard (2003) "The Eve of Destruction: The Untold Story of the Yom Kippur War" Perennial p. 11 under the caption "Israeli soldier cools off in the Suez Canal" (photo taken by Denis Cameron). Jun 23, 1967, Life magazine front cover
Yom Kippur War In 1973, while on his honeymoon in Nepal, then-lieutenant colonel Ben Hanan learned of the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War. Over the course of a few days, he returned to Israel and arrived on the Golan Heights on October 8, 1973.Boyne, Walter J. The Yom Kippur War: And the Airlift Strike That Saved Israel (2003) () He participated in fighting against the Syrian military in the holding defence of the Golan Heights along with then lieutenant colonel Avigdor Kahalani, and was wounded for the first time, but refused to be evacuated and continued fighting.Blum, Howard (2003) "The Eve of Destruction: The Untold Story of the Yom Kippur War" Perennial pp.248,268-269
On October 9, 1973, Ben Hanan took command of the tank company put together from the remnants of the decimated 188th Armored Brigade by Shmuel Askarov, one of the survivors. Leading his command in a battle against overwhelming numbers of Syrian T-62s in the area north of Quneitra, Ben Hanan restored the tactical situation and penetrated with his unit deep into Syrian territory. On October 12, 1973 he was wounded for the third time, but refused to evacuate. He had led a further attack during which his tank was hit by a Sagger anti-tank missile, and Ben Hanan was wounded for the fourth time and rescued from behind enemy lines by Yonatan Netanyahu, a member of the IDF's elite Sayeret Matkal and brother of future Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Chaim Herzog (1982) "The Arab-Israeli Wars" Vintage pp.296-297
Ben Hanan received the second highest decoration, the Medal of Courage for his part in the battles of the Yom Kippur War.סא"ל בן-חנן יוסף 930536, Award citation at the IDF website
Service following the Yom Kippur War Following the Yom Kippur war, Ben Hanan commanded the 7th Armored Brigade, the IDF R&D department, the Israeli National Security College, and the Armored Corps. As a reservist, he attained the rank of Aluf (second highest rank of the IDF).
From 1997 to 2008, Ben Hanan was head of the Israeli Defense Ministry's developing countries defense assistance division, SIBAT.הקשר האפריקאי של יוסי בן חנן, מניף הקלצ'ניקוב מהצילום המפורסם בתעלה, [The African connection of Yossi Ben Hanan, the Kalashnikov fan from the famous photograph in the canal] Haaretz, July 2, 2009
References