An Israeli soldier who lost his arm in Gaza has won his first international medal in para taekwondo.
Athlete Omer Barel has come away with silver at the 2026 Swiss Open in St Gallen after reaching his first final of an international competition.
On January 16, 2024, Barel’s tank was struck by an RPG during combat while he was serving as a tank commander. The blast caused significant damage to his leg and catastrophic injuries to his left arm, which ultimately resulted in its amputation.
Barel spent around eight months in hospital and underwent more than 20 surgeries, as well as prosthetic fittings and intense physiotherapy.
He had initially been assigned to a non-combat role but insisted on serving in a combat unit, where he was subsequently sent to the Armoured Corps.
Barel had been due to leave the army on October 8, 2023, but following the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, he contacted his commander and returned to his unit.
The soldier grew up in Kokhav Ya’ir in central Israel, starting judo at six years old and later competing for Israel. He put his sporting career on hold to serve in the IDF.
After his life-changing injuries, Barel was approached about taking up para taekwondo. At first, he was hesitant but started training in early 2026.
He progressed quickly, competing at the Israeli senior taekwondo championships in Jerusalem in June, before making his international para taekwondo debut at the President’s Cup in Germany shortly afterwards.
Speaking to publication Davar, he said: “That feeling of being back in the arena and doing what I’m good at returned to me… It gave me a new purpose in life.”
Barel said he took his inspiration from Israeli para taekwondo champion Asaf Yasur, who lost both hands as a teenager and later became one of Israel’s leading paralympic athletes.
Barel told Davar that he now trained alongside Yasur. “I hope to reach those levels as well,” he said.
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