Israel’s war heroes: IDF creates committee to award Medal of Valor for first time since Yom Kippur War

Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, instructed the Israel Defense Force to create a commendation committee to award Israel’s highest military order, the Medal of Valor, to soldiers who fought against Hamas in the “Iron Swords” War.

“I approached the Chief of Staff to receive the IDF's recommendations regarding the awarding of the Medal of Valor, the highest decoration awarded only to 40 fighters since the establishment of the state, in recognition of exceptional acts of heroism, courage, and exemplary conduct by soldiers or military units,” Katz said.

IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir announced the creation of the committee on Thursday. It will submit its recommendations within 90 days.

Recipients of the medal, which hasn’t been awarded in over half a century, will be chosen by the defense minister upon recommendation of the committee.

“Out of the devastation and loss, many stories of heroism also emerged — which we must honor,” Zamir said at a memorial event at the Nahal Oz outpost as part of the memorials for the second anniversary of the war.

“Thanks to the determined fighting of all the commanders and soldiers, we have achieved significant accomplishments that have brought us to the current situation and to a position of strength; we are positioned to control territories that allow us to resume fighting at any moment, if required,” Zamir added.

“October 7 was the most difficult day for Jews since the Holocaust and the hardest day in the history of the State of Israel,” Katz said.

“Since then, the IDF has operated with heroism and determination on multiple fronts, completely altering the strategic balance of power against our enemies. From the first day of the war, we were exposed to extraordinary stories of heroism by male and female fighters who stood their ground, fought with self-sacrifice, and saved many lives—and it is our national and moral duty to honor them.”

The medal is being awarded for “an act of heroism carried out in the performance of a combat duty, while risking one’s life.”

When thousands of Hamas terrorists surprised and overran the border on October 7, 2023, many IDF posts and units were completely surrounded, and fought defensive battles while being outnumbered many times over.

In addition, hundreds, if not thousands, of off-duty or retired IDF soldiers throughout the country grabbed their weapons and rushed toward the Gaza border, risking their lives to defend civilians there.

To date, there have only been 40 recipients of Israel’s highest military honor. 15 of the recipients were killed during the fighting.

Notable recipients include Ami Ayalon, who went on to become the IDF Navy commander and director of the Shin Bet, as well as Avigdor Kahalani, hero of the Yom Kippur War.

The eight medals during this war were the last to be awarded.

The second-highest award, the Medal of Valor, has been given out 93 times for the Yom Kippur War and ten times since then.