Ammunition Hill Memorial Honors Six-Day War Veterans Murdered on October 7
A new memorial plaque at Ammunition Hill honors five Battalion 66 veterans of the Six-Day War who were murdered in the October 7 massacre and Hamas captivity.
Ahead of the third anniversary of the October 7 disaster, a new and poignant memorial plaque has been added to the historic Battalion 66 monument at the top of Ammunition Hill. The plaque commemorates Chaim Peri, Avraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, Oded Lifshitz, and Amitai Ben Zvi, z"l—five veterans who fought in their youth in the battle for Jerusalem during the Six-Day War, only to be murdered decades later in the October 7 massacre and Hamas captivity.
In June 1967, the five men were young soldiers in Battalion 66, participating in the fierce battles that became an integral part of Israeli military lore. Peri, Munder, Metzger, and Lifshitz fought directly in the bloody battle for Ammunition Hill itself. Nearly 60 years later, on October 7, 2023, they were abducted from their homes in the western Negev to Gaza, where it was later confirmed they were murdered in captivity. Amitai Ben Zvi, z"l, was murdered on his kibbutz on the morning of the massacre.
Preserving the Secret and Closing a Painful Circle
Throughout the hostages' captivity, their connection to Ammunition Hill and Battalion 66 was kept under strict secrecy. The National Heritage Center for the Six-Day War at Ammunition Hill refrained from publishing their military background out of responsibility, sensitivity, and deep concern that exposing the details could endanger their lives with their captors. Only after their bodies were returned and the full extent of the tragedy was known was the decision made to reconnect their personal story to that of the battalion.
The Battalion 66 monument, originally established by the fighters themselves immediately after the 1967 battles, has over the years become a living memorial honoring the battalion's fallen in Israel's wars. The addition of the new nameplate continues this tradition, bridging the generation of Six-Day War fighters who built full lives of community and family with the painful chapter of the Iron Swords War.
"There are moments when history is not just a story from the past, but returns to touch us with immense force," said Amnon Noybach, a member of the board of the National Heritage Center for the Six-Day War and a veteran of Battalion 66. "The connection now revealed chillingly links two significant and painful chapters in the nation's history. During the captivity, we chose not to disclose their ties to Ammunition Hill in the hope that they would return home. Today, as they are no longer with us, we feel a duty to tell their story."
