The One-Armed IDF Sharpshooter

After losing an arm in battle, Izzy Ezagui retrained himself to become a sharpshooter once again and returned to combat. Remarkably, he became even faster and more precise with one arm than with two.

“I’m just a Jewish nerd from Miami,” Izzy said by way of introduction in an exclusive Aish interview.

Izzy grew up in Miami, living a typical American Jewish life that included hours of playing XBOX as a kid. “Playing video games probably helped me become a better sharpshooter because it refined my hand-eye coordination. If a Jewish nerd like me can do what I did, anyone can.”

Izzy attended Jewish schools and grew up learning about Jewish history. The Holocaust resonated deeply with him. When he learned about the IDF and how unique it is that Jews now have an army to defend themselves, Izzy knew he wanted to be part of it.

“I understood from a young age what our people suffered through. We finally have a military and a way to defend ourselves. How could I not fight to protect my people?”

In 2008, he packed his bags and headed to Israel to enlist. He had just finished basic training when he was sent to the Gaza border during Operation Cast Lead whose aim was to stop the bombardment of rocket fire into Israel.

The goal of Izzy’s unit was to locate terror tunnels. One day, a captain from his unit was killed by an RPG. His unit was ordered to enter Gaza to bolster the troops and retrieve the captain’s body. Izzy thought about calling his mom.

“She didn’t know I was anywhere near Gaza. I’d been telling her I was on the Lebanese border which was quiet at the time. No one wants their mother to worry. Lying was my way of protecting her.”

But then the unimaginable happened. A 120-mm mortar struck Izzy directly, ripping his arm from his body. The decision whether or not to call his mom was ultimately made for him.

“My body decided to keep me awake. I stayed conscious from the moment it hit me until I was put to sleep for surgery at the hospital.”

Izzy knew before surgery that his arm couldn’t be reattached but he was already determined to continue his service. When he woke up, his parents were by his bedside.

“I want to continue serving in combat,” Izzy told them.

His father burst into tears. “How can you joke about this?”

His mother said, “If this is what his heart is telling him, let’s stand behind him.”

Izzy listened as his parents argued. “If they were arguing, that meant they believed I could do it. They weren’t debating whether it was possible—just whether they should support me. That belief fueled me from that point on.”

It took Izzy nine months to relearn basic life tasks: tying shoelaces, buckling a belt, and buttoning shirts.

“It took a while to figure out how to live one-armed, and I also had to figure out how to stop taking painkillers.”

He was prescribed a cocktail of painkillers, including fentanyl and opioids, three times a day, to manage the phantom pain that haunted him.

“Even though my arm is gone, I relive the trauma over and over.”

Against his doctors’ orders, Izzy stopped taking painkillers cold turkey. Withdrawal was brutal: no sleep, cold sweats, and night terrors.

“There were moments when I felt like I’d been hit by the rocket again. Sleep paralysis would freeze my body. Everything except for my eyes. I’d be stuck in pain, unable to scream.”

Once Izzy felt stable, he launched a mission to return to combat.

“I pushed every general and politician I could until General Yoav Gallant finally agreed to give me a shot. I had one month to pass the tests that typically take eight months to complete.”

Izzy relearned to shoot and unjam his weapon, jump seven-foot walls, climb ropes, and pull grenade pins with his teeth. He completed the obstacle course far faster with one arm than he had with two.

“One of the most powerful moments happened during training. A group of soldiers running nearby noticed me navigating the course with one arm—in full combat gear. They joined to cheer me on. I broke my two-armed record that day. Their support pushed me to do more than I thought possible.”

While others cheered, Izzy fought through self-doubt.

“I motivated myself through negative self-talk back then. I’d tell myself I wasn’t good enough, which ironically made me push harder to prove myself wrong. I wouldn’t recommend that approach today.”

Izzy encourages himself through positive thought patterns and reinforcement instead.

After passing all the tests again, Izzy faced months of red tape. Eventually, he returned to combat. He used special techniques—like wrapping hockey tape around grenade pins to protect his teeth when he used them to yank out the safety pin.

Izzy served on active duty from 2010 to 2011, completing command school and leading a squad of 13 soldiers through their advanced training. His proudest moment was earning the respect of his team.

On October 7th, Izzy was retired, but when he saw the videos of Hamas’s atrocities, he understood that he had to go back.

“Retired reservists were told not to come. But I knew I wouldn’t sleep peacefully unless I showed up, even if that meant I got turned away.”

True to form, Izzy fought his way back into his unit and returned to Gaza. As recently as six months ago, he was in the Radwan terror tunnels in Lebanon.

“In Lebanon, my unit found the largest terror tunnel to date—1.7 kilometers long. It took 450 tons of explosives to destroy. The explosion was so large it registered as an earthquake.”

Izzy is proud of his accomplishments but admits that living with one arm has been a learning process.

“We humans are resilient when we have no choice. There are still things I can’t do, like cut steak or play guitar. Some things I’ve learned to do just as well with one arm, and other things I avoid without thinking about it. I’ve moved on and feel very comfortable.”

Returning to combat helped him heal and find purpose again. In combat, there were days when he forgot he was even injured—a mindset that shaped how he approached civilian life.

“I don’t feel disabled and most people don’t see me that way either.”

Along the way, he wrote a book about his experiences: Disarmed: Unconventional Lessons from the World’s Only One-Armed Special Forces Sharpshooter.

“I’m just a Jewish nerd from Miami. If I can do this, anyone can.”

Izzy’s unwavering devotion to the Jewish nation and his message of resilience are truly inspiring. Follow him @izigram to learn more.