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    • “I am proud of my country and of MDA. I’m proud to have saved lives’
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    “I am proud of my country and of MDA. I’m proud to have saved lives’

    Pabio Posted on

    Yaakov Aviezri, volunteer paramedic and ambulance driver at MDAlives in Netivot. On the morning of Simchat Torah, he woke up to the sound of explosions. He did not panic: he was used to explosions and the escalation of the security situation. Yaakov was an ambulance driver whose job was to respond to emergency calls in his area.

    “Suddenly the phone rang,” he recalls. “The screen said the number calling was 101. I’m a religious person and I observe the Sabbath, but if Magen David Adom calls me, it usually means someone’s life is at stake. I answered the call. It was from a MDA Dispatch Center worker who told me that there had been a few unusual incidents in the area and that she would like to go over safety procedures with me in case I was called. These guidelines are discussed with MDA drivers whenever there is an increase in violence, a reminder of our emergency procedures.

    But the MDA worker on the other end of the line failed to get through his briefing before sending Yaakov to an emergency call: “She suddenly cut off in the middle of a sentence. She took a deep breath and told me, “There is an incident near the Netivot intersection. Go there now. Drive carefully to the intersection to see what’s happening there and report back to us.

    “I immediately jumped out of bed, put on my shoes and went straight to the ambulance to go to the address given to me. Once on the way, I received more information via our internal system: ‘Terrorist activity – serious injury.’

    “The dispatch center employee called me by radio, begging me to take extra safety precautions. When I arrived, I saw another ambulance that had arrived first, and several police cars alongside Inside, I was calm because the area seemed protected, and it seemed like everything was okay. I opened the ambulance door to help treat the injured, took a step, and everything. Suddenly we were greeted by a loud burst of gunfire. I still didn’t realize at the time what the noise was. I didn’t understand how big this incident was. become serious.

    Yaakov and other wise men tend to a wounded soldier (credit: MAGEN DAVID ADOM)

    “The doctor in the other ambulance screamed and ordered me to take cover. As I was lying on the ground, the penny finally dropped – the terrorists were shooting at us! – and it all happened. is produced in a few seconds. Nothing will ever be the same after those moments. Many civilians who were in the area were hit by the shots. The police officers who were there managed to. neutralize the terrorists who had shot at us, one of the police officers indicated that I could get up, grab the wounded and take them to the hospital urgently.

    Yaakov and teams from other MDA ambulances began evacuating the injured. “I immediately got into the ambulance to leave, when suddenly a military vehicle arrived and aggressively blocked me; some soldiers came out and started shouting “Help! ” Help!'”

    Yaakov saw that two injured people were being taken out of the car – a young couple, both seriously injured, their legs missing. Yaakov checked that the tourniquets had been applied correctly and that the bleeding was under control. He transferred the man to his ambulance and the woman to the other ambulance on scene, and both were taken to the emergency room as quickly as possible.

    The horrible journey

    Yaakov describes the dramatic journey there and the thoughts that ran through his mind at that time: “The view on the way was completely different from what it usually was: burning cars on the side of the road ; huge amounts of black smoke rising from fields and orchards; I could barely see the road. And the smell? A smell I will never forget, the smell of death, of burning bodies.

    “But I had no time to think. My mission was clear and it was the only thing I focused on. In my mind, I heard an inner voice screaming, ‘Save them!’ The MDA dispatch center had already asked the hospital to prepare the trauma room. All the way there, I begged the patients not to fall asleep, not to close their eyes.

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    After Yaakov transferred the patients to the medical team at Soroka Hospital, he returned to the Netivot MDA station to wash all the blood stains from the ambulance. He then called his colleagues and asked them to join him in the ambulance to help him with the remainder of his shift.

    Suddenly, a siren sounded and everyone in the MDA station rushed to take cover in the bomb shelter. Then there was a huge explosion. Everyone understood that this was not just another successful interception by the Iron Dome missile defense system. Thirty seconds later, Yaakov and his team were evacuated to treat the wounded from the rocket that fell on the city.

    They arrived on the scene and found three members of a family: a young man already dead and two other men seriously injured. “We immediately started the resuscitation procedure, stopped the bleeding and returned to the hospital, but they were in a very bad condition. I shouted over the radio, asking the call center to send an intensive care team to meet us. They arrived at Gilat Junction with minimal delay. Unfortunately, these patients did not survive,” Yaakov tells us sadly.

    “In total, we evacuated dozens of injured people to hospitals, mobile intensive care units and MDA air ambulances as well as on Black Shabbat – police officers, soldiers and civilians. To me, “Black Shabbat” is not just any old phrase. This Black Shabbat was the bloodiest day I have ever experienced – incredible amounts of blood, thick blood that had already lost its redness. When you’re dealing with such a large amount of blood, it appears black,” he says.

    “In the days after Black Shabbat, I had to alternate between the IDF reserve service and the MDA medical service – between fighting and saving lives. I try to contribute as much as I can, wherever I am and in every moment I have. My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones. I can only hope that we will see better days and that our hostages will return home safely with God’s help. Elhanan, Orian and Golan – you are the best team I could have hoped for. Thanks to you, we were able to save lives. I wouldn’t have made it for a single minute without you. Never forget: there is only one State of Israel; the people of Israel live and together we will win. I am proud of my country and Magen David Adom. I am proud to be able to save lives.



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