In a moving ceremony at the Rabin Medical Center on Tuesday, Maj. Hagai Ben-Ari, who was critically wounded in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge, was named a Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit commander. Ben-Ari, 29, has been unconscious since his injury and is being treated in the hospital's neurosurgical unit. "Here in this room, right now, beside this bed, I ask your permission to add your name to the list of Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit commanders, a unit that is the crown jewel [of the Israel Defense Forces]," said Paratroopers Brigade Commander Col. Eliezer Toledano, holding the unconscious soldier's hand. Ben-Ari, who was supposed to have been promoted the week he was injured, was surrounded by his family at the ceremony -- his parents Chanie and Yoni, his wife Moriya, and his six siblings -- who searched his face for some kind of reaction. "Please forgive my formality," Toledano said. "Hagai, I want to tell you what I would have told you if I were there in Khan Younis when you fought and led the reconnaissance unit, which I know you love the same way that you love the things dearest to your heart." Ben-Ari was critically wounded on the fourth day of the campaign. He was hit in the head by sniper fire when the unit he was leading clashed with Hamas militants. He is now also fighting infection, and on Tuesday, his family was called urgently to his bedside on when his condition deteriorated. Toledano arrived around midnight. Ben-Ari began as a regular soldier in the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit and later became an officer. He has participated in every IDF campaign from the Second Lebanon War in 2006 to Operation Protective Edge this past summer. He is the father of 7-year-old Moran, 4-year-old Shalev and 10-month-old Ofri, and spent a short vacation in Eilat with his family before leaving to fight in Gaza. The last text message he sent to his wife recalled the trip. "You should know that I am so, so happy we went to Eilat," he wrote. "We had some wonderful times together and I felt that you and I have formed a deep, strong partnership that can deal with any uncertainty." For Moriya, who has been with him since age 16, his words took on new meaning with his injury. "The biggest element here is the complete uncertainty," she said. "The hardest part is to balance patience -- because they say these things take time -- and uncertainty. The process is so long, but what are we waiting for? It could be nothing or it could be something minor. You're just scared to develop expectations or hopes because the doctors are not optimistic." Ben-Ari's father, who still serves as a colonel in the reserves, said, "When the officer knocked on the door, our first question was, 'Which one of the three-'" Both Ben-Ari's older and younger brothers served in combat roles in Operation Protective Edge, and all six of his siblings have served as IDF officers. "There were a few horrible moments where we were told what happened. And then we had a nightmarish drive [from the Golan Heights] to Soroka Medical Center [in Beersheba]," his father said.
