I woke up at 6:30 from a red alert siren, I started reading reports and very quickly understood that something here is unusual. I wrote to the head of the volunteers in my district and I asked to go down south to help. I really didn’t manage to get organized and was already on an ambulance heading south. On the way we were caught by more sirens, we saw mushrooms of smoke all over the place, we heard horrifying reports. At that point I already understood that I might not get home from this day.
When we arrived at Ofakim station we began to set up an improvised hospital in the parking lot and very quickly injured and dead victims came in.
The event that I remember the most from that day between all the gunshot victims we tended to, is a Golani soldier who arrived with a severe gunshot wound to his neck, we evacuated him to the helicopter while his friend held pressure on the wound. I remember I was surprised from the calm demeaner they both had, that soldier was seriously injured and couldn’t even talk, but insisted on staying awake and breathing. After we put the victim on the helicopter, I took the other soldier who actually saved his friend’s life by applying pressure for over 4 hours aside, I told him what a hero his is, washed his hands which were full of congealed blood and gave him my phone to call his family and calm them that he’s okay. They were disconnected since that morning and didn’t even understand what was going on.
It was very painful for me to treat soldiers. Children. Who gave everything to keep us safe and paid a heavy toll.