Within 20 minutes of hearing that her fianc\u00e9 was killed fighting against Hamas in Gaza, Hadas Levy embarked on the near-impossible: seeking to retrieve the sperm of her beloved so she could fulfill their dream of having a family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a035-year-old Levy gave birth to the miracle baby she conceived with fallen IDF reservist\u00a0Netanel Silberg\u00a0three months ago. She is withholding the infant\u2019s name and image\u00a0out of fear for his safety.<\/p>\n
Hadas Levy smiling as her holds her miracle baby. Naama Stern, Makor Rishon<\/p>\n
Hadas Levy and her fallen IDF reservist fiance, Netanel Silberg while on a hike. Courtesy of Hadas Levy<\/p>\n
The young couple had their lives planned out \u2013 traveling the world, building a home together outside of Jerusalem, and having a big family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Oct. 7, 2023 changed everything.<\/p>\n
Silberg, a 33-year-old special forces commander who was \u201cvery shaken\u201d by the surprise Hamas attack that left 1,200 dead and hundreds abducted, was determined to volunteer for combat during the ensuing Gaza ground invasion, despite Levy\u2019s pleas.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe decided he\u2019s going in, no matter what,\u201d she recalled, adding that he was even asked to use his skills in war-room logistics away from battle.<\/p>\n
On Dec. 18, 2023, her devoted partner with big green eyes, who had already picked out the names of their future children, fell in battle in the northern part of the Gaza strip from a bullet to the chest.<\/p>\n
The couple were determined to have a big family, Levy said. Courtesy of Hadas Levy<\/p>\n
Levy, a pediatrician in her 30s who had finally found the love of her life, was unsure she could go on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t not have anything alive from him and move on,\u201d she recalled thinking. \u201cI needed something from him growing inside my belly. He\u2019s the [rightful] father of my children and I want to be a mother, and if he\u2019s not alive and I don\u2019t have children, then I don\u2019t want to keep living.\u201d<\/p>\n
She sprang into action. Within 12 hours, Silber\u2019s sperm \u2013 which was not as viable as live sperm and had no motility \u2013 was successfully preserved. During a grueling 10-hour process at Jerusalem\u2019s Hadassah Hospital, a specialized team worked to revive dead sperm\u00a0that had been deprived oxygen for hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The genetic material\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0developed or ready to use\u00a0and while a sample from a living donor typically contains\u00a0millions of sperm cells,\u00a0this harvest produced only nine viable cells.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She then faced the labyrinthine\u00a0Israeli legal system, which determines a partner\u2019s legal and ethical right to use the sperm of\u00a0a dead person, on top of\u00a0significant\u00a0medical hurdles\u00a0including her own fertility treatments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Levy\u00a0defied all odds, if there ever were any odds.<\/p>\n
The grieving woman defied the odds after Silber was killed, becoming pregnant after his sperm was retrieved. Courtesy of Hadas Levy<\/p>\n
\u201cThe doctors didn\u2019t want to give me percentages, because they really didn\u2019t know,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n