Israeli woman Birth of the sperm of the soldier who died after October 7

On June 11, Hadas Levy became the first woman to give birth to a child engendered by a soldier killed in the War of Israel against Hamas in Gaza, triggered by the massacre of October 7 which made 1,200 lives.

Captain (res.) Netanel Silberg, Le Fiancé de Levy, was killed in combat in Gaza in December 2023. The couple met at a blind meeting organized by friends in May 2022.

“He was very beautiful. He came to pick me up and waited me outside his car, like a man from another era. He was tall – about 1.80 meters (about 5 feet, 11 inches) – well built, and when he withdrew his glasses, he had the most beautiful green eyes. He was the whole package,” Levy told Fox News.

Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza after an explosive device hit their vehicle

Netanel Silberg and his fiancée, Hadas Levy, pose together before Silberg, a reserve captain of the Israeli defense forces, was killed in Gaza during fights with Hamas terrorists. (Hadas Levy)

While the full extent of the October 7 carnage emerged, Silberg responded to the call to arms. Although his age and rank exempted him from serving in Gaza, he joined the first wave of soldiers deployed there.

“I kept telling him not to go there, but he was agitated. He went to get his army equipment from his parents and said he would return, but he went to the battlefield,” Levy said.

On leave the following month, Silberg bought a ring and proposed.

“We got engaged around November, but we did not have a party. We never talked about what I would do if something happened to him, because it was not an option,” said Levy.

On December 18, 2023, Silberg was killed in combat.

“I was working that morning. I am not a spiritual person, but I felt nausea so intense that I had to spit in a trash can. I went home early, and it turned out that nausea struck at the same time as he was killed,” recalls Levy.

Because the couple was not married, Levy received no official notification; She learned of Silberg’s death by a phone call from her mother. It was on this call that Levy asked his mother the question that would continue on her inheritance.

“I just remember being lying on the carpet and begging her mother on the phone to ask them to do the procedure to collect the sperm of Netanel. She said yes immediately,” said Levy.

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Hadas Levy holds his newborn son. (Hadas Levy)

The procedure for collecting sperm from the deceased male, formerly rare, became common after October 7, Dr. Eran Altman, director of the sperm and infertility for men, told Fox News. The procedure is similar to that carried out on infertile living men.

“In the week after October 7, due to the massacresIt took time to identify the bodies. We received them several days later and tried to recover the sperm, but we found that after more than 72 hours, and generally after 48 hours, the sperm is no longer viable, “he said.

Since then, the Israeli army has become more effective in quickly transporting the bodies, ensuring that the victims arrive in their uniforms and their equipment to avoid delaying the procedure.

Sperm is kept in liquid nitrogen at –196 degrees Celsius, where it can remain viable for decades.

Hadas Levy, his son and Dr. Eran Altman, director of the sperm bank at the male infertility clinic at Beilinson Hospital, Israel. (Rabin Medical Center – Beilinson Hospital.)

Previously, an order of the court was required to collect the samples with fell soldiers. Since October 7, the law has been temporarily modified: the procedure can now be carried out without a court order, but the sperm cannot be used without one. The Altman clinic at Rabin Medical Center – Beilinson Hospital collected eleven samples of sperm from Silberg.

During Shiva, the seven -day Jewish mourning period, Levy told Silberg’s mother that she would start the design process using her samples.

“I had the impression that there was no life without him and that I could not continue. I felt that it was the only living thing that I could still get him. I wanted to grow in me,” said Levy.

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Levy has described the challenges of navigating her pregnancy without her partner. She said that she had to pass each test alone and explain her absence each time that has been asked about the father. With Netanel who died, she could not undergo genetic projections and often had to count on her mother to obtain information on her family.

In June, Levy gave birth to his son by Cesarean at the Hadassah University Hospital on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, where she had also undergone an insemination accompanied by Dr Efrat Esh-Broder of the IVF unit.

“I love him because he is who he is, not because he is his father’s son. I have not called him Netanel. He is not a tombstone,” she told Fox News Digital.

Hadas Levy’s early childhood son sleeps next to her in an un dated photo. (Hadas Levy)

Three months later, his son has his father’s nose and ears. Levy said Silberg would have been upset, because he never liked his own characteristics.

“We are already looking at photos of Netanel. He needs to be proud of his father, the story of his father is a bravery. He must know that he has a father and a family,” she said.

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Levy is frequently approached by women looking for advice on the process. In addition to her, about six other TSAhal widows are looking for parenting using sperm recovered from their deceased husbands.

The organization of widows and orphans of TDI (IDFWO) offers full support throughout the process, helping families navigate on emotional, legal and medical challenges.

“You should want the child for the child and not for his father who was killed. It is something that is sometimes forgotten. The child cannot only be his father’s son, it’s not just. For girls who want to do it, I say it. It is continuity, it’s life and it’s incredible,” said Levy.