The 2024 Summer Paralympic Games in Paris will commence on Wednesday. The Israeli delegation, comprising 27 athletes, has prepared for the competitions not only in terms of sports but also for potential unpleasant situations such as pro-Palestinian demonstrations or booing, similar to what occurred during the Olympic Games.

To provide the athletes with the warmest and most Israeli embrace possible, El Al, the official carrier of the Paralympic delegation to Paris, has established the "Flag Team" – Israel's cheering squad aimed at encouraging the athletes and giving them the feeling of playing on the most home-like field possible.

The Flag Team consists of about 30 Israelis who will fly to the games in Paris, sponsored by the company. Among the team members will be veterans injured during Operation Iron Swords with the potential to become future Paralympic athletes, volunteers working with disabled veterans, and representatives from the general public selected through a campaign conducted by the company on social media.

Also joining them are several influencers such as singer Eden Golan, content creators Danit Greenberg, Liel Eli, and Tal Morad, and actor-comedian Orel Tzabari, who will join the Flag Team and cheer for the Paralympic athletes in Paris.

Golan is well-acquainted with hostile environments, having experienced it at the recent Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden, where she bravely stood her ground and finished in fifth place. Before departing for the games, she took time for a few questions with Israel Hayom.

Q: Are you excited to be part of such a big event? What are you looking forward to the most?

"I'm very excited to go, and especially to see and cheer for our competitors on the field. I'll give them all the love I can."

Q: What do you think your presence and visit will provide to the Paralympic team?

"As an Israeli competitor who went to represent the country during wartime and faced antisemitism, I hope I can give them some indication and strength when they need to stand in such a situation. I'm looking forward to meeting them. I hope it will give them all the support and strength they need in such a moment. I know it closely and understand how significant it is."

Q: Tell us a bit about the Flag Team.

"It's a team that El Al is sending to cheer for Israel's athletes. Joining me are reservists who are 'sports fanatics,' who will cheer together with me from the stands and lift our athletes' spirits. We have an amazing team. Each one brings a different and special story. We had a very good connection when we met, and I'm truly excited to travel with them and unite our strengths."

Q: Is it really possible to disconnect from all the background noise?

"It's not easy at all, but it's possible. I did a lot of personal work that didn't stop until the moment I went on stage and even on the stage itself. It's also important to be surrounded by good people."

Q: Did you follow the success at the Olympics? Do you have a special message you'd like to convey to the Paralympic delegation?

"Leading up to the games, I followed partially, as much as I could. Seven medals is incredible, and there's nothing like our country. My message to the competitors is to remember that we're proud of them and love them no matter what result they bring. There's no one like them in the world."

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Paralympic taekwondo fighter Assaf Yasur won a gold medal at the World Taekwondo Championships held in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday.

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Yasur, 19, competed in the under-58 kilogram category and defeated his Turkish opponent – 2019 bronze medalist Ali Can Ozcan – in the championship final by a score of 42:57, winning his first international medal.

On his way to victory, Yasur overcame opponents from India with a whopping score of 2:32, Guatemala (0:30) Mongolia (10:16), and Russia (4:13).

Yasur lost both hands at the age of 13 in an electrocution accident. Upon recovery, he began to train in Para Taekwondo. He has now set his sight on the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

"I am the happiest person for the way I performed, for the medal and for this crazy day," Yasur said shortly after his victory.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid congratulated Yasur on Twitter saying he was "not just a source of huge national pride for our country, but he is also a reminder that willpower can take you to the highest peaks."

Culture and Sports Minister Hili Tropper also congratualted the champion.

"Five months ago I met Yasur and I knew that he would go on to win a medal. It was not a wild guess, simply because everyone who meets this wonderful young man understands that for him, the sky is the limit. He lost both hands a few days before his bar mitzvah, but did not lose his willpower or ambition for even a moment," he said.

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Israeli swimmer Ami Dadaon, who won two golds and one silver medal at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo this past August and early September, adorned the olive khakis of the IDF for the first time on Tuesday to begin his military service.

"It's very exciting to be a soldier, I'm happy to have reached this day," he told Israel Hayom.

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Some 140 new volunteers enlisted to the IDF in recent days, which now places the number of special needs volunteers in the IDF at more than 2,000 – the most ever.

Dadaon was one of the stars of the Israeli delegation at the Paralympics. The 20-year-old, who was born with cerebral palsy and is handicapped in all four limbs, set a world record in the 200-meter men's freestyle race.

"The moment I received the gold medal and heard [Israel's national anthem] 'Hatikvah' in Tokyo was the most thrilling of my life," Dadaon said.

Dadaon will do his mandatory service at an Israeli Air Force technical base in Haifa in northern Israel. He is designated as an outstanding athlete and as such is eligible to combine his army service with intensive athletic training.

"To put on the uniform is a dream of mine from a young age. I received an exemption from the army due to my situation, and I needed to go through a long process to serve in the IDF. I wanted to be part of Israeli society and the IDF – which protects our country," Dadaon added.

Asked whether he views himself as a role model, he said he would like to be.

"I don't know if I'm a role model. I hope I'm influencing people to step outside their comfort zones and do things for themselves and for the country. From my perspective, in sports and in the army I am shedding my handicap, the stigma. I'm not handicapped; rather a good athlete and soldier, and I hope this affects people – with and without handicaps," he said.

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Israeli Paralympic swimmer Iyad Shalabi won the gold medal for the 100-meter backstroke final in the S1 category at the Tokyo Paralympics on Wednesday, securing the first gold for Israel in this Paralympics and also becoming the first Arab Israeli to medal for Israel.

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Shalabi was born deaf and mute and was left a paraplegic after an accident he suffered when he was 13.

On Wednesday, he swam the 100 meters in 2:28.04.

Culture and Sports Minister Chili Tropper congratulated the swimmer for his "enormous success" in a Facebook post.

"Congratulations to our Israeli swimmer Iyad Shalabit, who won Israel's first gold medal at the Paralympic Games. Iyad is an inspiring person, whose life is full of victories. And today was another shining one… We're proud of you, Iyad!" Tropper wrote.

Shalabi could be awarded with a cash prize of 500,000 shekels ($155,000), like Israel's other Olympic medalists.

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