Elisha Medan, a reservist who fought and was critically injured in the war against Hamas in Gaza, and who lost both of his legs in the fighting, participated Tuesday in the Outstanding Soldiers ceremony at the President's Residence, and called for unity among the people.
Medan traveled to the south on October 7th to fight, and after two weeks entered Gaza together with his unit, to lead the brigade to the conquest of Beit Hanoun. In an incident in Gaza, he suffered critical injuries.
Describing the fighting spirit of the soldiers, he explained: "I think that whomever fought in Gaza or in the north, and in the other theaters, feels the Divine spirit which enveloped the fighters - the spirit of bravery, of mission, of national pride, of faith in the righteousness of our path."
Medan added: "People who you don't know - you love them dearly, and are willing to sacrifice your lives for each other. Even if you don't know each other. And that is a very strong spirit."
"Whoever experienced this spirit will not give it up, ever. We need to bring it to the center of Israeli society. Just like the heroic soldiers rush into the fire and overcome their fear, we, here, need to overcome our opinions and our side, and rush towards creating unity."
Medan concluded by stressing: "Iran and Hezbollah want to divide us. They are waging a war of consciousness against us. We on the home front need to overcome and unite, because that is the call of the hour and only through this will we win. We are united, we are uniting, and we will win."