The sisters and loved ones of a young soldier were seen in a video thrilled after he completed a long march as he wrapped up his basic training.
7News is protecting the identity of the 20-year-old raised in Miami-Dade County because he has headed to fight in Israel.
“He is and has always been the kind of kid who says ‘I’m here to help others who can’t help themselves,'” said the soldier’s father, Jeff Levin.
The Israeli soldier is walking into the aftermath of an operation that left so far left nearly 1,000 killed on the Israeli side and hundreds killed in Gaza, with scores taken hostage.
The Michael Krop Senior High School graduate left South Florida to move to Israel right after graduation and joined the military.
“I was really proud,” said the father. “It spoke of a commitment to something much larger than him.”
Levin’s son was home in Florida when the news broke Saturday morning and his father knew he’d have to go back.
“He acknowledged he was afraid… resolute, but afraid,” he continued.
Dr. Ofer Merin, a trauma surgeon at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, said of the thousands hurt or killed, some had to wait up to a full day for care.
“We know that the first responders, some of them died, some of the first responders were injured because they were coming into these areas and they were shot,” said Merin. “It took more than 24 hours to clear the area, I mean there were terrorists in houses.”
He said those killed in the music festival were mostly gunned down and some where hit by grenades. Merin also said he saw the bodies of elderly people shot at close range.
“Got shot in the head,” added the surgeon.
It is a brutal reality that a soldier like Levin’s son will be facing.
“I tried very, very hard to not let him see me cry and I failed,” said Levin. “So we exchanged ‘I love you’s’ and off he went.”
It remains undisclosed what unit the soldier is apart of, but he told his father that if his own sister or mother were in danger, that would be the unit that he would want standing in the way.
Merin also noted that the hospital system in Israel remains standing firm to continue doing their work and providing care.
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