Eliyahu's father was born in Khorramshahr, Iran, and in 1922 immigrated to British-mandated Palestine; Eliyahu's mother was from North Macedonia.[2][3] Eliyahu himself was born in Jerusalem in 1944.[1] During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Eliyahu shot down two Egyptian fighters as he led a squadron of F-4 Phantoms. June 27, 1979 over Lebanon, while flying an F-15 Eagle as part of a 4 ship formation, he shot down a Syrian MiG 21 with the M61 cannon scoring the first recorded guns kill (the 3rd air to air kill) for the F-15. In 1981 he flew as fighter escort during Operation Opera, which resulted in the destruction of Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor.[1] Eliyahu served as commander of an F-15 squadron, member of the IAF Aerobatic Team,[4] a base commander, head of the Operational Requirements Division, and in 1987 was appointed Head of Operations for the IAF.[5] On July 1, 1996 Eliyahu was promoted to Commander of the IAF.[6] Over the course of his tenure Eliyahu focused on extending the range of IAF operations, especially in regard to Iran.[1] As such, Eliyahu ordered 25 F-15I fighters, which had a longer range than Israel's previously purchased F-15s.[1] Eliyahu stepped down as IAF commander on April 4, 2000.[6]