Last Fighter Present at Ink Flag Raising Ceremony Dies at 95

Yohanan Elishov, the last surviving fighter who participated in the historic Ink Flag raising ceremony in Eilat in March 1949, passed away at his home at the age of 95. Elishov, a Palmach member who fought in the War of Independence, served as a driver and liaison in crucial battles to open the road to Jerusalem and on the southern front.

At the age of 15, he falsified his age to 16 to join the Palmach. He combined agricultural work and training in Givat Ada under the command of Rafael Eitan. In June 1948, he began fighting on the southern front under Uzi Narkis. During his service, he was injured by a mine and hospitalized, after which he returned to fight in Operation Yoav, the capture of Beersheba, and Operations Lot, Horev, and Ovda.

During Operation Ovda, he was appointed as the driver for the Southern Front commander, Yigal Allon. He later drove the lead reconnaissance jeep for the Negev Brigade commander, Nachum Sarig, leading the force in a race against the Golani Brigade to reach the police station at Umm Rashrash (now Eilat) on March 10, 1949, where the Ink Flag was raised.

After his release from the IDF in 1949, Elishov served as a reservist in the Artillery Corps and participated in Operation Kadesh, the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, and the First Lebanon War.