Elisha Medan Stands for Knesset Oath as Lawmakers Applaud

Elisha Medan, a newly elected Likud lawmaker who lost both legs in the Gaza war, stood on his prosthetic legs to take his oath at the Knesset in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Lawmakers from across the political spectrum rose to applaud him during the opening of the 26th Knesset. Earlier in the day, Medan had said he intended to stand despite continuing pain, bleeding and uncertainty about his medical condition. He wrote: “When I declare allegiance to the Knesset of Israel and the people of Israel, I will stand on my feet.” He described rehabilitation as an ongoing physical and emotional struggle to rise, stand and walk. The ceremony fell on the third anniversary of the November 10, 2023 incident in which Medan was gravely wounded near Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza while serving with Battalion 697. His personal statement remembered comrades killed in the incident, including Yossi Hershkovitz and Moshe Leiter. Medan lost both legs and subsequently underwent rehabilitation. Medan lit an Independence Day torch in 2025. Before the election that brought him to parliament, Benjamin Netanyahu reserved the 15th place on Likud’s list for him. In his statement before Tuesday’s ceremony, Medan also called for a broad national unity government.