As the names of more fallen soldiers are shared, it’s important to remember that behind each one was a young, selfless person who was cherished and loved by their family and friends.
Heartbroken and bereft, the best that those who have been left behind can hope for is to paper over the cracks and carry on for the sake of their fallen hero.
The family of 22-year-old Capt. Harel Ittah, from Netanya, who served as a commander in the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, is doing just that.
Harel, who was injured in battle in southern Gaza on December 22, succumbed to his wounds on New Year’s Eve.
This brave young soldier was utterly devoted to his family and his girlfriend, Nitzan, all of whom were devastated by his tragic and untimely death. He also doted on his 16-year-old pug, Chaki, who’s barely left his bed since his master’s passing.
As the younger of two siblings, Harel was extremely close to his older brother, Omer, who was clearly struggling to come to terms with his loss when we met earlier this week. Unsurprisingly, the grief was still raw. This “old soul” – as Omer called him – who loved Elvis, meant the world to them. Nevertheless, he was keen to talk about his “little brother,” of whom he felt immensely proud.
The courage of the fallen
Although Harel’s family only learned about the full extent of his courage and selflessness at the shiva, Omer said that his brother always “put himself in second place and everyone else in first place.” As a commander in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Harel guided his tzevet (team) with the same compassion and determination that he’d displayed since he was a young boy.
Going above and beyond, he always led from the front, both literally and figuratively, dispensing helpful advice (including dietary tips), warm hugs, and reassurance when necessary. “He loved the IDF; he loved what he did; he loved the action. He wanted to be with his comrades.” Omer told me. Nothing was too much trouble for him.
Despite having suffered an injury earlier in his service, which could have led to his discharge, Harel didn’t quit.
Instead, he carried on, determined to complete his service, which, as tragic irony would have it, was due to finish in June of this year – although once the war started, he resolved to carry on until the end. “He didn’t want to leave his soldiers,” Omer stated matter-of-factly.
On October 7, Harel wasn’t on duty. Nevertheless, when news of the Hamas atrocities in the South broke, he contacted his tzevet and arranged for them all to meet at Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
It wasn’t until after his death, when people from the kibbutz came to pay their respects at his shiva, that Harel’s family learned about the incredible bravery and kindness that he displayed on that fateful day. Stories were shared about how terrified kibbutz members were encouraged to come out of their hiding places by Harel, whose reassuring smile instantly put them at ease. Many said that were it not for him, they would not be alive today.When the boys from “Tzevet Ittah,” as it was known, visited the family after their commander’s death, it became obvious how much they loved him. “We saw it in the funeral... how they loved him and adored him and were even [prepared] to die for him,” lamented Omer.
Yonatan, a young man who had suffered serious injuries in Gaza, attended Harel’s funeral on a stretcher. Despite his obvious discomfort, he echoed Omer’s words in his address to the mourners. Indeed, the commitment between Harel and his boys was extraordinary. As Omer recounted, “He loved the IDF; he loved what he did.”
While it’s not known exactly how many lives Harel saved on October 7, what is known is that his bravery didn’t end there. His team was among the first to go into Gaza as part of the ground forces that entered the Strip some three weeks later.
In Gaza, Harel continued to put his comrades, and everyone else around him, before himself. It was no surprise, therefore, to learn that his tzevet picked up a stray, hungry Alsatian puppy in one of the Gazan refugee camps.
Together, they looked after him, giving him food from their own rations, until he was taken back to Israel by a reservist who also happened to be a vet. Such was the bond between Harel and the dog, that he was brought along to the funeral.
HAREL FOUGHT bravely for two months in Gaza, leading his men on numerous dangerous and complex missions. Tragically, on December 22, he was fatally injured in the explosion of a house that had been booby-trapped. The blast instantly killed two men from his tzevet and left Harel with serious, life-threatening injuries after the building collapsed on top of them.
Having been evacuated by helicopter to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, his medical team did everything they could to save him. His family remained by his side throughout his time in the hospital, and despite the fact they aren’t religiously observant in any way, even calling on rabbis – including Chief Rabbi Yisrael Mair Lau – who came to his bedside to pray for his recovery,
Tragically, Harel wasn’t able to overcome his horrific injuries, and he passed away on December 31. Omer personally oversaw the cleaning of his brother’s body by the nurses, as he didn’t want him to be laid to rest with any battle marks.
As fellow Jerusalem Post columnist Jonathan Lieberman wrote in last week’s column, on the day of Harel’s funeral, the whole community turned out to say goodbye to their local hero. Tearful friends and neighbors lined the streets, waving flags as the cortege passed by, led by his biker friends on their Harleys.
While the nation of Israel mourns the passing of one of their finest, Harel, a gibor Yisrael (hero of Israel) who set the bar so high it seemed almost impossible to reach, his heartbroken family now only has memories to look back on.
This was brought into sharp focus as I sat in the garden with Omer, who, while looking around, remarked wistfully, “This is our childhood home, we grew up here, everything is full of memories, and it’s very hard to be here…”
This broken man, who both cherished and admired his brother in equal measure, choked back his tears with the words, “It’s very difficult to think that he won’t come back... He was my little brother.”
The writer is a former lawyer from Manchester, England. She now lives in Israel where she works at The Jerusalem Post.