Tamir Dudi survived a fierce battle in Jabaliya, underwent 17 surgeries in three countries and ultimately chose to have his right arm amputated. Now, at 26, the IDF officer has set himself a new target: reaching the podium at the surfing world championship in California this November.
Dudi, who has surfed since childhood, had spent less time in the water after entering a pre-military program at 18 and later joining the IDF. On October 7, 2023, he was serving as a lieutenant in the Nahal Brigade’s reconnaissance unit and waiting to begin a company commanders’ course.
After 17 surgeries and an amputation, wounded IDF officer Tamir Dudi fights his way back onto a surfboard
(Photo: Yuval Chen)
He and his soldiers were sent into communities near the Gaza border, where they fought in the Sha’ar HaNegev area and at Mefalsim and helped evacuate wounded people from the Nova music festival.
“I asked the soldiers that whoever was afraid should raise his hand,” Dudi recalled. “I didn’t wait for an answer. I told them this wasn’t the time to be afraid. This was the time to save lives. We saw everything no one should have to see and did everything we had to do.”
On January 16, 2024, his unit was fighting in Jabaliya when militants emerged from a tunnel shaft and tried to surprise them.
“Those were 20 minutes of hard fighting and about 20 seconds of survival, when we were face to face with the terrorists, and the whole time I was muttering to myself that I was getting out of there alive and, more importantly, making sure my entire team got home safely,” he said.
“Three fragmentation grenades were thrown at me and I was shot in the leg. I was lying on the ground and saw that my whole body was torn apart, but luckily my team pulled me back and saved my life.”
Another officer was wounded alongside him. Dudi was evacuated by helicopter to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Jerusalem and began a long series of operations in Israel, the United States and Austria.
“I had severe nerve damage in my leg and arm and understood that I would never return to full function,” he said. “I went through an emotional and physical roller coaster knowing that I had lost my independence.”
For a year and a half, doctors tried to save both his left leg and right arm.
“After a year and a half of hospitalizations, releases and attempts to save my left leg and right arm, I looked for something that would comfort me, something that would give me hope again,” he said.
He eventually called a friend who worked as a surfing instructor and asked what it would take for him to return to the water.
“The answer I got was: ‘You’re nowhere near it,’” Dudi said.
By then, his right arm was completely paralyzed and causing severe pain. After doctors told him there was no realistic prospect of meaningful recovery, he made the decision to have it amputated.
“I flew to Austria for the amputation. The doctor there told me, ‘You need courage.’ It was done on September 30, the eve of Yom Kippur. I woke up from the amputation with my whole family outside and I was smiling. I believed things would be okay and that I would find a way to get somewhere good.”
Back to the water
After the amputation, Dudi’s desire to surf only intensified.
He went to a beach in Tel Aviv and tried to get back on a board. At first, he could barely stand in the water, let alone paddle.
“I tried again and again and saw that it was getting better,” he said. “I managed to do it, barely, far from where I needed to be, but there was a direction.”
When someone asked how he could surf with one arm, Dudi said his answer was simple.
“I do everything. I don’t give myself any breaks. I learned to love my body again.”
His progress accelerated after he discovered Surf Park TLV, a facility with an artificial wave pool. There, he made a decision that would reshape his recovery.
“When I arrived for the first time, I decided that I wasn’t surrendering to any limitation and that I was going back to surfing,” he said.
One of the coaches, Daniel Sigura, encouraged him.
“You have the potential to go very far, you just have to keep at it,” Dudi recalled him saying.
Dudi began training three or four times a week and gradually turned surfing into the center of his life.
He later traveled to California for a training camp.
“There are endless falls and the question of whether to get up in the morning and why,” he said. “Surfing is a great reason to start the day. The water is healing for me, and after I nearly lost my life, I’m entering this journey with everything I have and with maximum focus.”
From looking for an apartment to building a home
His recovery brought another major change.
In March 2024, Dudi, originally from Holon, began looking for an apartment in Jerusalem. He posted on Facebook and received a message from a woman named Nov, who offered to help.
“We looked for a home and in the end we built a home,” he said. “We fell in love and got married a year and four months ago. I can say it’s a classic case of unconditional love.”
After five months of intensive training, coaches around him increasingly began to see Dudi as a major prospect in adaptive surfing, a discipline that is not currently part of the Paralympic Games.
Surfwear company Billabong and surf-equipment company Ultra Wave have also begun supporting him.
Ahead of the world championship, Dudi is realistic about the challenge but clear about his goal.
“If I had to, I would go out another thousand times to fight for the country without thinking twice,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll be world champion in November, but I want to stand on the podium. To know that I won.”
After that, he already has his next ambitions in mind.
“Once I check that goal off, I’ll go study psychology and, God willing, the big dream is to become a father soon.”