A Fight For Life

July 29, 2024

by: Janet Aslin, BFP Writer

October 7, 2023 is the date when thousands of terrorists streamed across Israel’s border with Gaza, viciously and brutally killing, raping or kidnapping all who came across their path. It is also the date of heroic action and a fight for life. Among the many heroes were the men and women of Magen David Adom (“Red Shield of David”), Israel’s “national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service.”

For its actions on October 7 and the days that followed, Magen David Adom (MDA) received the International Humanitarian Service award. Presented by the International Red Cross, the award “recognizes an individual or group whose work exemplifies or inspires the humanitarian values of human dignity, respect and compassion.” Let’s take a look at those who answered the cries of the wounded and dying.

At the Risk of Their Own Lives

There are over 34,000 MDA volunteers and employees in Israel, all of them deeply committed to their life-saving role. MDA Director Itamar Abramovich described that morning in an interview with the Jerusalem Post. “‘At 6:30 a.m. that morning,’ he recalls, ‘we were switching shifts. As the night shift ended, the morning shift was coming on duty. At 7:00 a.m., they told us to be on the highest alert and ordered all volunteers to report to the MDA stations.’ Within an hour, 1,400 MDA ambulances were ready.” And as events taking place along the Gaza border became known, they were desperately needed.

As the day unfolded, ambulance drivers and medical personnel fought to save lives with no regard for their own safety. In the words of Yoel Kahn, an MDA paramedic, “…we would exit the ambulance and shield the wounded with our bodies, acting as human shields.”

The shift manager at MDA’s Negev Disptach Center, Liz Peretz Katz worked 17 hours straight that day. It was so intense, she later said, “It felt like 17 minutes,” as she worked to coordinate teams in the field and relay messages, at times arranging for helicopters to extract the critically wounded from sites which were not yet secure from the danger of armed terrorists.

Some Paid the Ultimate Price

One of the calls Liz received was from Aviya Hezroni, 69-year-old volunteer ambulance driver and senior EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) from Kibbutz Be’eri. Aviya had been shot in the stomach and Liz urged him to hold on until help could arrive. In her words, “Aviya stopped answering the phone. I prayed that it was because his battery ran out. I didn’t want to believe that he had bled to death, alone, in the safe room. I held on to hope until someone arrived to him, touched him and said “that’s it,” that there was still a chance for him. I felt I was losing it so I went out to collect my thoughts and went back to work.”

Only 22 years old, Amit Man was an MDA paramedic as well as an instructor. She began treating the wounded in the clinic at Kibbutz Be’eri, refusing to leave despite the danger. She was wounded herself but would not leave her post. When Hamas terrorists broke into the clinic later in the day, they murdered Amit. As reported by the Jerusalem Post, “Her body was found with a tourniquet on her thigh and her examination gloves on her hands. She was treating patients until the very last moments of her life.”

The MDA website lists 34 volunteers ranging in age from 19 to 69 who lost their lives on that fateful day or later in the fighting in Gaza. Here are details on several of them from the website:

IDF (Israel Defense Forces) operations officer on the Nahal Oz base Osher Simha Barzilay, 19, saved many lives volunteering on MDA MICUs. She trained new volunteers and dreamed of becoming a brain surgeon.
Ronen Engel, 54, was an MDA volunteer in Kibbutz Nir Oz. He was kidnapped while treating others on his kibbutz (collective community) on October 7 and was killed in Gaza.
Amishar Ben David, 43, was an IDF combat officer and head of the MDA volunteer unit in the community of Eli. He was an ambulance driver and EMT in addition to being a father, husband, and high school teacher.

Gifts of Service and Love

Magen David Adom is an amazing organization that receives no government funding but relies solely on donations from Israel and abroad. According to their 2023 year-end report, the average age of an MDA volunteer is 26; the oldest is a 90-year-old and the youngest is 14. These volunteers, including 14,490 teenagers, gave more than 4,700,000 volunteer hours in 2023.

Bridges for Peace has played a role in this story. Representing the love of Christians from around the world, recently donors from Bridges for Peace Canada and Japan supplied the funds for two intensive care ambulances that are now in active service in Israel. It is a privilege to partner with MDA in the ongoing fight to save lives in a country that has never wanted war.

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