“Everything I know about my father comes from stories people told me and memories they shared with me. My father was an amazing person, someone who first and foremost put everyone else before himself. He would come home from work every evening, at all hours, and it was important to him that we spend time together, that we be together as much as possible. He loved taking me with him on bike rides, putting on music for us, time that was just the two of us.”
When Staff Sgt. Ella Ram (20) was just 10 months old, she lost her father Elad, who fell during the Second Lebanon War. As Israel marks 20 years since the war, Ella feels that in her role as a combat soldier in the Home Front Command’s Search and Rescue Brigade, she is continuing his path.
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Ella Ram. 'Everything I know about my father comes from stories people told me and memories they shared with me'
(Photo: Gil Nechushtan)
Elad served as an active-duty Golani Brigade combat soldier and after his discharge reported for reserve duty with the Carmeli Brigade. “He held many posts throughout his service, both as a regular soldier and in the reserves, and from the moment the war began he was in Lebanon. To my mother and the family, he always conveyed that everything was fine,” Ella says.
“During the war, my mother’s brother got married. Suddenly, a messenger arrived at my mother’s home with flowers from my father and everyone was excited that he remembered. When no one noticed, he walked in wearing his uniform. He had left Lebanon and came straight to the wedding. After the wedding, my mother drove him back to the staging areas in Shlomi. The picture of me with him from that evening is our last one together.”
A prophecy written in advance
Elad did not return from that reserve deployment.
“It was the final day of the war, just a few hours before the ceasefire came into effect, in the village of Ayta al-Shaab in southern Lebanon. They already knew there was a ceasefire, they knew where things were heading, they knew they would be going home within a few hours,” Ella says.
“Then a first anti-tank missile was fired toward a combat platoon that was near my father’s platoon. When my father and the platoon commander who was with him heard over the radio that there were many wounded, they immediately organized the entire platoon that was with them to provide initial assistance. Then my father and his commander began carrying the wounded on their backs.
Ella with her father, Elad
(Photo: Elad Gershgorn)
“They ran under sniper fire toward the site of the strike and carried them one by one to a safer place. When they reached the final two wounded soldiers, a second anti-tank missile, fired from the same location, hit all four of them. All four were killed on the spot.”
Years after his death, the family found a letter Elad had written during one of his reserve deployments, which he dedicated to his partner, who later became his wife and the mother of their daughter Ella.
“A few days after Memorial Day, he heard on the small radio he had at his guard post about someone who had fallen and written a letter to his loved one. It felt to him like a prophecy that had been written about him in advance,” Ella explains. “He wrote to her that he was doing this for his loved ones, for the family, for the people who had not been granted peace in this country and for those who might receive it later.”
According to her, “My mother raised me my entire life alongside the loss. It was always something that was discussed at home. But she very much believed in growing from it. My life was not centered around bereavement, I had many beautiful moments during my childhood. My mother worked very hard to make sure I would have a good life.
“My father has a very large part in our lives and in the way I grew up. My mother raised me according to my father’s values — these are the sacrifices we ultimately have to make, because if I don’t do it, who will? And who am I not to give of myself for the people I love and for the country I love?
'My mother raised me my entire life alongside the loss'
(Photo: Amit Magal)
“It is something so much bigger than us, and this is how we need to live. This is my father, these are his values, and this is how I was raised.”
“There is no room for fear here”
In November 2023, just one month after the outbreak of the “Swords of Iron” war, Ella enlisted as a combat soldier in the Home Front Command’s Search and Rescue Brigade.
She says the choice of a combat path, despite being an IDF bereaved family member, was clear. “I had no doubt for a moment. My entire life I knew I wanted to be a combat soldier and continue my father’s path.”
Her choice of unit was also not accidental. “My father was killed while he was rescuing and saving people. Thanks to him, many of the friends and soldiers who were with him in that incident are still alive today. I knew this was the path I wanted to continue, and I’m sure he would have been proud of me and the person I am.”
During the two campaigns involving Iran, the force in which Ella serves was called up for activity at various sites.
'We went through all the homes three times to make sure there was no chance we had forgotten even one person.' The scene of the destruction in Arad during Operation 'Rising Lion'
(Photo: Herzl Yosef)
“I was on standby in central Israel and took part at the scene of the strike in Rehovot. This was the first time we were actually involved in rescue. We arrived there and simply gave everything we had.
“We went through all the homes three times to make sure there was no chance we had forgotten even one person. Every person we saw on the street, we evacuated to an area close to a protected space, and we provided them with initial assistance, whether it was even a glass of water, a hug or taking a moment to check on their loved ones,” she said about her service during Operation “Rising Lion.”
“These were major incidents with many casualties, but we gave everything we had. When you arrive at a rescue event or hear there has been a strike nearby, you immediately disconnect your thoughts and start operating at 100%. There is no room for fear, you think practically about what can be done and divide up the work.”
Asked about her feelings regarding the IDF’s return to southern Lebanon, she said:
“As an army, we have a role, and that is to protect the security of the citizens and residents of our country. If we as an army are not on the front line, the residents are the ones who will pay the price. As someone currently serving in the army, I believe this is something we all need to take part in. Many did this before me and many will do it after me.”