During the battle at Zikim beach, he was shot in the face with a Kalashnikov.

By Hezy Laing

From the serious injury of the eldest brother on October 7th, through the injury of the officer brother to the loss of both legs of the young company commander in Gaza – the unimaginable story of the Levy family us one of endless heroism, and of a single, unbreakable spirit that echoes from the intensive care bed: “Continue until victory.”

Israel’s Channel 14 recently recounted an unbelievable story of three fighting brothers from one family who were all injured during the war.

Sergeant Rahamim Yishai Levy, a fighter in the 51st Golani Battalion; his brother, Major Y., who serves in an elite unit; and their younger brother, Second Lieutenant Elkana Levy, a platoon commander in the 13th Golani Battalion.

The family’s story begins with Rahamim himself, the oldest brother, who was seriously wounded on October 7th.

As a soldier in Golani’s 51st Battalion, he defended an outpost on Zikim Beach.

“Within less than an hour, we realized that we were in an incident of terrorists penetrating the outpost by sea,” he recalls.

“During the defensive battle, I was shot in the face with a Kalashnikov.”

Today Rahamim stands beside the bed of his brother Elkana, who was critically injured just a week and a half ago in a serious incident in the Gaza Strip.

“Just as he fought in Gaza with his head held high, so he is currently fighting in intensive care,” says Rahamim.

This spirit was evident in Elkana’s first moments after he woke up from his injury.

The first message he wanted to convey reflected the special person he was: “Tell everyone that I love them, and to my soldiers and the rest of the company that they will continue until victory and until the last hostage is freed.”

In the same incident, in which Elkana lost both of his legs, a soldier from his platoon, the late First Sergeant Amit Cohen, was killed.

Even from his sickbed, Elkana continues to lead. Rahamim says he witnessed a video call his brother had with his soldiers and other officers, in which he “really conveyed his heart to them, that they must continue the mission.”

They, in turn, told him about the operational successes they had dedicated to his recovery.

Now, alongside the physical and mental challenges, the family is facing another challenge: finding an accessible housing solution for Elkana.

“We are looking for Elkana, for us, for the family, a house in the vicinity of Tel Aviv’s Nahalat Yitzhak neighborhood that can be made accessible,” explains Rahamim. “If anyone can help us with this, we would be very happy.”

Despite everything that has happened to them, the family’s faith remains strong.

“I feel that the Holy One, Blessed be He, is with us every second,” says Rahamim.

“People say – its easy to talk about victory… let’s see it with actions, not just words. So we must persevere even through difficult encounters.

We truly believe in the justice of the path Elkana set out on, and that the rest of the soldiers will continue until the enemy raises a white flag.”