Severely wounded in a bomb explosion in Gaza six months ago, American-Israeli soldier Ari Spitz lost both his legs and one hand and remained in a coma, fighting for his life. On Monday, as a ceasefire deal brought the over two-year-long hostilities to a halt, Spitz stood in the gallery of the Knesset as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu applauded his valour.
Speaking in the Israeli parliament, Netanyahu looked towards Spitz and narrated the story of how he sustained the injuries in Gaza. "He was injured in Gaza while looking for Hamas terrorists and weapons. Two of his comrades were killed in action, and 10 injured. Ari was presumed dead but he made a recovery despite losing three limbs," he said.
All heads turned to Spitz, applause thundered as Netanyahu said, "Ari, you are the spirit of Joshua, the spirit of David, the spirit of the Maccabees. Ari, you are the spirit of Israel. I salute you."
Spitz was considered one of the most seriously injured soldiers from the Israeli side to have survived his wounds, having spent nearly six weeks undergoing treatment and recovery in the hospital.
In his address on Israeli Independence Day earlier this year, Spitz recalled that during a routine building search in Gaza in February 2024, his unit encountered a concealed tunnel. Before the unit could evacuate, explosives in the tunnel were detonated. First presumed dead, Spritz was then evacuated and airlifted to a hospital, where he underwent eight surgeries and received 35 units of blood, Israel National News reported. He remained in an induced coma for six weeks and then his journey towards recovery began.
Trump and Netanyahu's speeches in the Knesset came on the day Hamas released all 20 remaining living hostages as part of a ceasefire pausing two years of war that pummelled the Gaza Strip, killing tens of thousands of Palestinians.
After receiving a long standing ovation from lawmakers, the 79-year-old hailed a "historic dawn" for the Middle East and declared the end of a "painful nightmare" with the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal he helped broker. "I've been involved in a lot of success. I have never seen anything like what's going on today," the Republican said, adding that people were "dancing in the streets" about the deal.
He told the Knesset that Israel had "won all that they can through force of arms" and said it was now time "to translate these victories... into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the Middle East". Netanyahu called Trump the "greatest friend of Israel".
