Son of Ruti and Shaul. Born on June 6, 1970, in Kibbutz Nir David, a grandson of the founders of the kibbutz, a second child to his parents, brother to Einav and Tomer.

Oded, whose friends used to call him “redhead”, attended the kibbutz elementary school and the Gilboa Regional High School in the Beit She’an Valley. A boy beloved by all his friends and teachers, an outstanding basketball player and a model student.

In his youth, Oded was active in the Hashomer Hatzair movement. After graduating from high school, he decided to postpone his enlistment in the army and, as part of his activities in the movement, he served as a youth guide in Nahariya.

In November 1989, Oded enlisted to the IDF and chose to serve in the command line of the Nahal Brigade. After the basic training period, he went on to an officers’ course, and at the end Oded returned to the brigade, first as platoon commander, then as deputy company commander and finally as Company Commander.

During his service as a company commander in Lebanon, Oded won a commendation diploma for his performance during a chase and fighting Hezbollah fighters.

During his six years of service in the army, he went on many occasions to operational activities in Lebanon and in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. During these years, some of his friends, commanders and soldiers were killed and injured. Those events changed Oded forever, and made him see life differently.

In 1994, Oded discharged from the IDF and went on a trip to South America. Right after his return, he started his studies at the Coventry University (England) at the Ruppin College, where he met Dovrat, who studied with him. Together they built a house full with love at Kfar Yehusuha village. At 1999, he finished his studies and was authorized as an industrial manger engineer, and soon began working as an engineer in a high-tech company.

Immediately after his discharge from the army, Oded was promoted to the position of deputy company commander in the 7020 infantry battalion, after two years he was appointed commander of the battalion’s auxiliary company, and his company was the battalion’s leading company.

Following the wave of terror attacks in early 2002 and the attack on the Passover Seder at the Park Hotel in Netanya, Oded’s brigade recruited at the end of March 2002, ahead of Operation Defensive Shield.

Despite Oded’s moderate political positions, which supported peace arrangements with the Palestinians, he enlisted immediately and went into battle with total faith with the operation goals.

After a short training session, the brigade set out for operational activity in Jenin. For eight days, Oded’s battalion fought in the Jenin refugee camp. During the fighting, Oded commanded his soldiers with determination and discretion, in order to carry out the mission in full, while protecting the lives of his soldiers while maintaining ethical rules of conduct towards the local residents.

On April 9, 2002 Oded fell in battle of Jenin. In a unit citation issued by Central Command Major General Yitzhak Eitan, he described the battle: “During the fighting in the Jenin refugee camp, as one of the forces advanced towards a house, fire opened from several directions towards the force. In the raging battle, thirteen commanders and soldiers fell. Oded’s soldiers and another force that came to assist in the operation, fought valiantly to rescue their injured comrades and to return fire. Despite the casualties, the company continued to fight until the surrender of the refugee camp. In recognition of the values of adherence to the mission, the courage, the friendship and the comradeship, the company awarded a Medal of Honor by the Central Command.”

Oded, the commander of the company was killed among 12 of his soldiers: Captain Yaakov Azoulay, Captain Dror Bar, Lieutenant Eyal Yoel, Sergeant Major Tiran Arazi, Sergeant Major Avner Yaskov, Sergeant Major Yoram Levi, Sergeant Ronen Alshochat, Amit Busidan, Major General Menashe Hava, Sergeant Shmuel Danny Meizlish, Sergeant Eyal Azouri and Sergeant Eyal Zimmerman.

At the age of thirty-two he fell. He was laid to rest in the military section of the cemetery in Nir David. Oded left his parents, sister, brother and spouse.

At Oded’s funeral, the battalion commander said: “My head is down, but thanks to you and your soldiers, my back will remain upright. It is important for everyone to know how Oded fought and how he led his man the the battle courageously, with determination to achieve the goals. Over the years, Oded always used to take care of the soldiers. Yesterday morning, in the narrow alleys of the refugee camp in Jenin, You were killed in an ambush full with explosive charges and gunfire from a close range of a few meters …”

The basketball team Oded was playing in, was later called “Oded Hof Hasharon Team”.