By David Israel • September 9, 2026
Jerusalem, 9 September, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Nearly three years after losing both legs in a booby-trapped tunnel explosion in northern Gaza, Elisha Medan is entering politics, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu placing the 45-year-old father of six 11th on the Likud Knesset slate on Tuesday.
Since his injury, Medan has become a prominent public voice on the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers, social cohesion and unity among Israelis.
Medan, who did not respond to The Press Service of Israel’s interview request, has repeatedly linked the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers with the healing of Israeli society. At Israel’s Independence Day torch-lighting ceremony in April 2025, he said Israeli society was “also in need of healing and rehabilitation” and called on Israelis to recognize that “we are on this journey together, and we must not be divided.”
He co-founded the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) Merol tracking unit, established after Hamas terrorists abducted three Israeli teenagers in 2014. The unit specializes in tracking and complex searches, including locating missing persons, fugitives and casualties in difficult terrain. Originally established as a civilian initiative, Merol was later incorporated into the military.
When Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Medan was not serving in an active-duty combat role. After receiving calls from friends asking him to help families trapped near the Gaza border, he put on his uniform, took a weapon and headed south. He said he encountered widespread chaos on the way, treated wounded people and collected weapons left behind. He spent the following two weeks fighting terrorists in Sderot and the surrounding Gaza-border communities before joining the 551st Brigade for the ground operation in Gaza.
He was critically wounded in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun in November 2023 when a booby-trapped tunnel shaft exploded, killing four soldiers. Doctors amputated both of his legs above the knees.
After a lengthy hospitalization, Medan underwent physical and emotional rehabilitation. He learned to walk with prosthetic legs and eventually returned to operational activity with Merol.
In April 2024, during the search for Binyamin Achimeir, a 14-year-old shepherd who was murdered in the Binyamin region north of Jerusalem, Medan arrived at the scene on prosthetic legs and directed the search operation involving Merol forces and volunteers until Achimeir’s body was found.
His entry into politics drew praise from Likud figures and supporters.
Almog Cohen, a deputy minister in Netanyahu’s government and 13th on the Likud list, told TPS-IL that Medan was “a symbol of national revival and a generation of fighters.” Cohen said he expected to work with Medan in the Knesset on behalf of IDF veterans wounded physically and psychologically.
Israelis are due to cast their votes on October 27.
