Yossi Malka, Father of the Late Sergeant Matan Malka's Homemade Pizza Recipe

“A Place at the Table” is a commemorative project that documents the favorite dishes of those lost on October 7 with the help of their families.   

Yossi Malka doesn’t need a scale or measuring cups to prepare his pizza dough. With just a glance at the dough forming in the mixer bowl, he instinctively knows exactly how much water to add. Unlike his wife, Libat, who prefers to watch her personal chef at work, Yossi thrives in the kitchen. “I love pizza, I love dough, I love sauces,” he says. “Over time, I’ve perfected my method. My pizza must have been good because Matan really loved it,” he adds as he skillfully folds the dough.

There were weeks when Matan would ask for Yossi’s pizza almost every night and sometimes invite his friends over for the pies. The pizza Yossi made for Matan became the heart of the Malka family meals.

Matan was born in 2004 and raised on Kibbutz Gesher Haziv as the eldest of four brothers. “Even when he was in the womb, we knew he would be our gift, so we named him Matan [gift in Hebrew],” says Libat. As a teenager, Matan dedicated most of his time to professional tennis. When he wasn’t training, he worked at Akhziv Beach for a company specializing in water sports and fell in love with the sea. 

Even as a child, Matan took things seriously — whether it was sports, work, or school. Intensity defined him. As he prepared for his army service, Libat recalls his unwavering commitment. “Although he could have pursued a career as an athlete, he chose combat service, and that filled me with pride,” she says. Matan trained for hours, often speaking about the importance of contributing to and defending the homeland. “He had a phrase he would always repeat: ‘Generations have dreamed of it, and we have the right to defend it.'” He enlisted in the 101st Battalion of the Paratrooper Brigade and by the end of his training, it was clear that he would go on to complete the company commander course and eventually pursue becoming an officer.  

Matan spent Simchat Torah weekend at the base, as part of the company commander course. On Saturday, October 7 at 7 a.m., he called his mother to let her know they were being sent to the South. By 10 a.m., he called again to say that their phones were being taken away and that they were heading to fight near Gaza. That was the last time Matan’s family heard from him.

In the photo: the late Matan Malka (on the left)

On Sunday, Libat says, messages started circulating in the WhatsApp group for the parents’ of the course participants, mentioning soldiers who had been injured and hospitalized or who had contacted their families. But there was no word from Matan. “On Monday morning, I began to feel uneasy,” she recalls. “To distract myself, I went out to pack food for the soldiers.” As noon approached, her concerns grew, and she began making calls, trying to reach Matan and other soldiers, including Lavi Buchnik, who hadn’t called home either. On Tuesday morning, Lavi’s mother called her, crying, and told her to stop searching for Lavi — she had been informed that he was killed. “Half an hour later, there was a knock on the door, and I told Yossi: ‘Open it, it’s our turn,'” Libat shares. “Suddenly, all the dots connected. They didn’t have to say anything more.”

They later learned that Matan and his comrades were among the first forces to arrive on the scene. They fought fiercely and cleared both the Ma’on and Re’im junctions of terrorists and rescued a woman that the terrorists were attempting to kidnap. When they reached Kibbutz Kissufim, they didn’t know that the outpost had already been captured. A platoon of 24 soldiers fought against over 100 terrorists. Matan was killed in the first round of fire, along with Lavi Buchnik, Omri Peretz, Bar Yankilov, Regev Amar, and Adam Agmon — six heroes, whose actions prevented the terrorists from reaching the residents’ homes. Their battalion commander, who fought alongside them and was seriously injured that day, later returned to fight and was the one who ordered the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

“We have no regrets,” says Libat. “I wouldn’t have done anything differently.” Matan enlisted with a deep sense of purpose, she reminds herself over and over again. “Thanks to this battle, many civilians were saved. These heroes protected them with their bodies. There is no comfort in my son’s death, but his death was not in vain, and with that, we continue every day.”

It took nearly a year after Matan was killed for Yossi to return to making pizza. Matan liked his pizza simple — just the dough and sauce, nothing extra. That’s why Yossi prepares the sauce with tomato paste and butter, just the way Matan liked it best. As a child, Matan was a picky eater and only as an adult did he start to try new flavors like smoked salmon, which he liked on his pizza. “Most people wouldn’t think of this combination, but it actually works really well,” says Yossi.

After his death, they realized that in all his photos and videos, Matan was always smiling. They realized they couldn’t remain fixated on sorrow. “We decided that he wouldn’t want to see us like this. We chose life. In his light, in his image, and in his likeness, we decided we would bring joy into the home,” Libat says. 

Today, she gives lectures in schools across the country on leadership and courage, inspired by her son. About a year ago, the family also inaugurated a hostel for lone soldiers in his name. “This pain is not going anywhere and will stay with us until our last day,” she says. “But we continue to live because we believe his death was not in vain. We get up every morning to remember him and to continue doing good in any way we can.”

Did you prepare the dish? Share a photo of it and tag it #A_Place_at_the_Table  to honor the memory of the late Matan Malka.