Abraham Elias met grief for the first time on December 7, 1978, when his son, Captain Oded Elias, fell during training on the Sinai Peninsula. Last December, grief struck again when he lost his grandson, Staff Sergeant Roy Elias, who fell in battle in Gaza at the age of 21.
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Abraham Elias had three children: two sons, Oded and Sasson, and one daughter, Orly. Oded fell at the age of 22 and did not have the chance to become a father. Sasson had a daughter and a son: Hadar and Roy.
Roy's passing severed the continuity of the family name, as there is no male heir to carry it forward into future generations. At the funeral, over his grandson's fresh grave, Abraham cried out in agony, "I am 93 years old and You took my son and my grandson in my place, leaving no one to carry on the Elias name."
He didn't get closure
Oded was the youngest commander in Shayetet 13, the Israeli equivalent to the U.S. Navy SEALs, at the time. One of his subordinates was a young man named Yoav Gallant, Israel's current defense minister.
Since then, Gallant has visited his grave every Memorial Day. During the last Memorial Day ceremony in the Knesset, in the presence of the president and prime minister, Gallant spoke about the commander he lost. "I was 21 when I lost a brother in arms, my commander. I met him in the Scouts. When I arrived in the Shayetet, our paths crossed again - I as a soldier in training and he as a commander," Gallant said.
"Oded was the kind of commander that you do not forget, tough and meticulous on one hand, and on the other hand, he was a father figure to us, a role model with much care and concern. I remember well the day we were gathered in 1978 and were informed that Oded was killed. Life went on, and he remained 22. I remember him fondly and miss him," he added.
Abraham Elias was one of the founders of the first combat engineering battalions in 1954. His grandson Roy served in the 603rd Battalion, the same battalion his grandfather helped found. "I was proud of Roy for joining the Combat Engineering Corps," Abraham says. "But unfortunately, he didn't get closure."
On October 7, Roy was deployed in the north. His battalion was moved to Gaza a few days later. The last time the two spoke was on December 16. Roy went on a short leave and called his grandparents.
Were you afraid when he went into Gaza?
"We weren't afraid, we were deeply concerned. That's how war is, I've been through wars and I know. Unfortunately, this concern came true."
On December 23, the knock on the door of the Elias family came, and with it, the harsh news: Roy was killed, along with four other soldiers, by an RPG anti-tank missile strike in the outskirts of Khan Younis. The grandparents received the news only the next morning.
Roy, born in the village of Tzofar in the southern Arava region and a member of the Ayanot youth village, was an outstanding athlete and played in the youth department of the Elitzur Yavne basketball team, even winning the title "National Shooter" in 2019.
He was a passionate fan of Maccabi Tel Aviv, and when he fell, the team issued an official statement. "Elias was a member of the youth academy, trained all day, and instilled love for Maccabi in his family." A team scarf was placed on his grave at the funeral.