After 19 Surgeries, Amputee Israeli Soldier Walks Down the Aisle

Boris Baruch Shtonda, a 27-year-old Reserve First Sergeant from the elite Duvdevan Unit, stood tall under a chuppah with his bride, Anna, in a wedding that had everyone choking back tears. Badly wounded in a brutal fight in Beit Hanoun during the Swords of Iron war, Boris lost his leg and went through 19 grueling surgeries. Yet, in a moment that screamed defiance, he smashed the ceremonial glass with his prosthetic leg, shouting to the world: “The Nation of Israel Lives!”

The scene was electric. Boris’s parents were there, beaming with pride. His friend Elisha Medan, who lost both legs in that same bloody battle, stood as a witness, his presence a quiet testament to their shared fight. The widow of First Sergeant Major Yossi Hershkovitz, killed alongside six others in Beit Hanoun, was there too. Rabbi Menachem Kutner, a Chabad Youth leader who’s been supporting terror and war victims for decades, presided over the weeding. “I’ve done hundreds of weddings,” he said, “but this one hit me hard. It’s pure courage, building a life against all odds.”

Boris’s story is gut-wrenching. He was backpacking in Japan when the war started on October 7, 2023. “I had to come back,” he said later. He landed in Israel on October 11, rejoined his unit, and the next day took shrapnel to the neck. Most would’ve tapped out, but Boris kept fighting. Then came Beit Hanoun, where an explosion took his leg. He woke up five days later, his parents breaking the news that he’d never walk the same again. “At 27, I was like a baby, totally dependent,” he admitted, laying bare the pain and struggle. But with his family and friends in his corner, Boris clawed his way back, relearning how to live.

Mazal Tov to Boris, an incredible Jewish hero and his new wife.