Zvi Ofer Zvi Ofer ( , 1932 – 1968 ) also known as " Tzvika Ofer " or " Zvika Ofer " , was an Israeli soldier and the commander of the Israel Defense Forces Haruv Reconnaissance Unit , and recipient of the Israeli medal of valor for the 1962 Nuqeib operation in Syria . In 1967 , he served as the military commander of Hebron and Nablus . Early life and the 1948 war . Ofer ’ s parents moved to British mandatory Palestine during the Third Aliyah and were among the founders of the settlement Kfar Azar . As a youth , Ofer delivered the Hagana newspapers to its subscribers , hung pro - Hagana posters in the middle of the night and oiled the guns belonging to the settlement . At sixteen , he left school and joined the Palmach , an elite group of fighters associated with the Hagana . He participated in Operation Dani in which the Arab occupied towns of Lod and Ramle fell to Jewish forces . His military talents did not go unnoticed and he was handpicked for officer ’ s training . In the midst of his training , he learned that his Palmach unit was gearing up for Operation Yoav , an offensive in the Negev region . He left officer ’ s school to join his unit in time for the offensive . By the end of the war , he attained the rank of sergeant while his classmates had not yet enlisted in the army . Border wars , the Suez war , the Six - day war . Following the 1948 War of Independence , he returned to civilian life but reenlisted in 1952 . He was first assigned to a unit that tracked down Arab guerilla infiltrators . Later , he joined the paratroops and partook in many reprisal operations of the 1950s . During Operation Kadesh , Ofer commanded a paratroop platoon that took part in the Battle for the Mitla Pass . Later , forces under his command took part in the taking of the Sharm el - Sheikh military base , thus clearing the way for Israeli shipping to pass through the Gulf of Eilat , which had hitherto been blocked by Egyptian cannon . In the early 1960s he was given a command position within Sayeret Golani . His unit became known as “ The Flying Tiger . ” In 1962 , Syrian artillery on the Golan Heights bombarded Israeli civilian targets , including fishermen on the Kinneret . The Israel Defense Forces felt that retaliation was warranted and chose a Syrian military target near the village of Nuqeib . Ofer ’ s unit played a central role in operation " Snunit " ( Swallow ) which resulted in the destruction of the chosen targets . During the operation , Ofer charged the Syrian pillboxes while firing his machinegun and throwing grenades . He yelled at them , “ surrender ; you don ’ t stand a chance , ” before silencing them with antitank fire . During the Six - day war , his was one of the few battalions that did not see combat as his assigned objectives , Bethlehem and Hebron , fell without a shot . Following the Six - day war , Ofer was appointed military governor of Hebron and Shechem and was lauded for his performance in those roles . Last battle . Ofer wanted to rejoin a combat unit and after a request , was assigned command of the Horev Commando Unit . The unit ' s primary responsibility was to combat Arab guerrilla infiltration in the Jordan valley . In 1968 , Ofer was killed in action in Wadi Qelt , west of Jericho , while in pursuit of militants who had crossed the Jordan river . The Arab guerrillas were on their way to attack civilian targets and the force led by Ofer intercepted them before they could reach their target . Ofer was the sole Israeli fatality in the engagement which also resulted in the killing of two guerrillas and the capture of six others along with a large weapons cache . At his graveside , the Commanding Officer of the Central Command , General Rehavam Ze ' evi said of Zvi Ofer , " the figure Zvika , the country boy , the youth in the Palmach , the scout , the commander , and the instructor , will remain engraved in our hearts . " The IDF Camp Ofer and Ofer Prison , founded in December 1968 , are named after him .