He was a beacon of light; he devoured life: The story of Cpl. Ilay Azar
Some people seem to carry a soul larger than their body can contain, people who live every moment with the intensity of a lifetime. That was Cpl. Ilay Azar, an infantry soldier who fell in a heroic battle on October 7, 2023. Ilay, who was only 18 when he was killed, accomplished in his short life what many do not achieve in eighty years. He was a gifted musician, an extreme surfer, a natural-born leader and above all, a “child of light.”
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A magnetic boy with a Mohawk
From early childhood it was clear Ilay was extraordinary. “Ilay was born a man, a Mensch,” his mother, Efrat, says. “He was a magnetic child, a child of light.” His father, Dave, adds that Ilay was always energetic and thought outside the box. “We were always amazed by the way he saw the world and acted in it.”
He did not always follow the conventional path. As a teenager with a strong personal voice, he arrived at school sporting a Mohawk haircut, expressing himself without fear. “He never waited for anything, he never wasted time,” says Alma, his girlfriend. “He was very straightforward. Yes meant yes, no meant no. And if not, you just did something cooler.”
Music and the sea: living on the edge
Ilay’s talent burst out in every direction. At just 12, without classes or teachers, he taught himself to play piano, guitar and drums. By 15 he had already released a full album he created on his computer entirely on his own. “He never studied anywhere,” Alma recalls. “He simply pressed buttons and experimented until he learned. He committed himself to it fully.”
Alongside music, the sea was the love of his life. Every morning at 5 a.m., before school, he would go surfing. His father describes a boy who sought the extreme, who always wanted to “push life just a little further.”
Despite his relentless energy, he also possessed rare sensitivity. “He had very high emotional intelligence,” Alma says. “He always cared about the invisible people, the weak. He always saw them.”
The “non-soldier” who became a hero
Military service did not come naturally to Ilay, who dreamed of studying music in Berlin. On the night between October 6 and October 7, while staying on base for the weekend, he called his father and said, “I’m not built for the army, Dad.” He could hear the music from the nearby Nova festival and only wanted to go dancing. But on the morning of October 7, when the inferno erupted, this “non-soldier,” as his father describes him, rose and became a fearless fighter.
Ilay, who served in the operations command post of the Gaza Division commander, did not hesitate. When the base came under attack, he ran to the entrance gate under fire. He pushed soldiers into a protected area, positioned guards and charged outside toward the terrorists.
He managed to kill one terrorist and wound another before he himself was injured. Even as he crawled back wounded, he made sure to pass his weapon to another soldier who had frozen in fear, before a shot from a window struck him in the head. “He had to take command and control the situation,” Alma says with pain. “And he did it, but he paid with his life. Many people are alive thanks to what he did.”
The message: Live Like Ilay
Ilay’s loss left a vast void, but also a legacy of overflowing vitality. “He devoured life,” Efrat says. “He did things people don’t manage to do in 80 years.” Dave adds, “If there is any comfort, it’s how much he managed to live in such a short time.”
His family and friends continue working to preserve his light. His home studio was donated to the school in Ein Carmel, where other children now play his instruments. Every year on his birthday, the “Ilay Ball” is held, an evening filled with music and joy, exactly as he would have wanted.
The slogan associated with his memory, “Live Like Ilay,” has become a way of life for many. “It’s not a cliché,” Alma explains. “It means using every moment, ‘pressing the gas’, exploring, seeing others and living with unconditional love.”
The message Ilay left behind is simple and resonant: Do not wait. Live now, fully, with everything you’ve got.
May his memory be a blessing.
Corporal
Ilay Azar