In an unusual and moving ceremony, Paratroopers Brigade Commander Col. Eliezer Toledano arrived on Tuesday morning to the neuro-surgical ward of Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva to officially appoint wounded Maj. Hagai Ben-Ari as commander of the Paratrooper Commando Unit.
Ben-Ari, a married father of three and resident of Nov in the Golan Heights, was critically wounded in Operation Protective Edge and fought for his life in the hospital.
The soldier suffered a head wound from sniper fire as the forces he led came across Hamas terrorists in Rafah, a border town in southern Gaza near Sinai. He was left unconscious for 11 long weeks, before being able to overcome his critical wound.
Toledano at Ben-Ari's hospital bedside Tuesday said "Hagai, I want to tell you what I would have said if I could have there in Khan Younis in the battle as you fought and led the commando unit: that you know and I know that you love from the place you love the most important things in your life."
"You were in battle like you were as a young soldier in the (army) track, as a unit commander; you were upright, you were certain. You were professional during the fight and after you were wounded," continued Toledano.
The Brigade Commander held Ben-Ari's hands as his parents, wife and captains from the unit stood by, saying "here in this room at this moment next to your bed I ask your permission to add your name to the list of Paratrooper Commando Unit commanders, a unit that is the diamond in the crown (of the army)."
In the 50 days of the operation 64 soldiers were killed, and 842 Israeli civilians were wounded, including six deaths. Over 2,000 residents of Gaza were killed, with research showing a full 49% of them were terrorists, marking an unprecedented 1:1 ratio of terrorist to civilian ratio almost unheard of in urban combat.