Disabled Israeli veterans take center stage at Tel Aviv Fashion Week

Dressed in glitter and glam, disabled Israeli veterans took the runway in Tel Aviv Fashion Week 2026 on Wednesday (November 11), in designer Golan Elbaz Frydman's show called 'Fregments'.

Men and women, some with injuries such as amputations and others with PTSD or chronic pain, walked the catwalk in a collection that Frydman said he designed thinking of people's ability to rebuild after losing a part of themselves.

Many of the disabled veterans who participated in the show were injured during the war in Gaza, which was triggered after a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 which killed about 1,200 people ​in southern Israel.

Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 ​people have been killed in the Israeli assault which was launched on Gaza after the attack.

Since October 2025, a ceasefire halted major fighting but has failed to halt Israeli attacks or secure Hamas' disarmament. At least 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire went into effect. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed during the same period.

Boris Shtonda who lost his leg in an explosion in Gaza and had since taken part in Iron Man and marathons, told Reuters that he wanted to show Israeli society that injured people are "not disabled".

Disabled veteran Yeonatan Hadad who lost an eye and suffers a brain injury, told Reuters that he wanted to set an example to others, while 36-year-old Natan Avrahami who suffers from PTSD, said he wanted to bring that which cannot be seen, to the public eye.

According to Israel's Defence Ministry, it treats over 90,000 people recognised as disabled veterans, some 30,000 of them recognised since October 7, 2023.