Eliya Hilel

Approx. three months prior, Sergeant Major Eliya Hillel, who served as a squad commander in the Kfir Brigade, was still participating in the heavy fighting in Gaza. Even after being lightly injured by shrapnel in Gaza, he returned to operational duty. Eliya was killed in a ramming attack near Shechem (Nablus), leaving behind two parents and three siblings.

'On October 7, Eliya was with friends from his pre-military academy, and he just drove, rushed to the Gaza border area,' said Kobi Shmuel, his uncle, in an interview yesterday on Army Radio (Galei Tzahal). 'He called his company commander and told him, “I'm coming to be with you,” but his commander said, “You’re not coming; I’ll court-martial you; get out of here,” and so on. But he came anyway and stuck by the company commander, and the commander shared that he was in total shock at Nova, and the one who held him up was his soldier, Eliya.' Kobi continues, 'There’s usually a distance between a company commander and a soldier who’s been in the army for only eight months, but the commander described how much strength Eliya gave him, how much he supported him, and how present he was for him.'

The terrorist who carried out the ramming attack in which Sgt. Maj. Diego Hersage and Sgt. Maj. Eliya Hillel were killed was waiting in line for vehicle inspection. He left the line, drove quickly toward the soldiers, and ran them over with a transport vehicle.