Magen David Adom, Israel’s paramedic and Red Cross service, treated injured Israelis all across the country Thursday and early Friday, responding to what MDA officials have likened to a triple threat.
First, MDA is treating people injured by the near-ceaseless barrage of rockets coming from Gaza that has injured hundreds and directly killed seven Israelis.
Its paramedics and EMTs are also treating scores of Israelis — Jews and Arabs — who’ve been injured in sectarian violence that has broken out throughout the country, including cities that have previously been hallmarks of cooperative living between Arabs and Jews.
And MDA crews are now dealing with a third challenge — direct attacks on its ambulances and personnel as sectarian violence has unleashed anger directed at any institutions regarded as quintessentially Israeli. Wednesday, an ambulance crew was attacked in the mostly Arab city of Umm al-Fahm, seriously damaging an ambulance, which had to be taken out of operation, the fifth such ambulance disabled by attacks since Monday.
Rockets caused injuries throughout western Israel, including three men injured in Ashkelon early Friday morning, one of whom was in critical condition. All three were stabilized and evacuated to Barzilai Hospital. A 7-year-old boy was also wounded by shrapnel in central Israel earlier in the day. An 87-year-old was killed, indirectly from the rockets, when she fell and sustained a fatal head injury while running to a bomb shelter after red alert sirens sounded near Ashdod.
Magen David Adom also responded to people injured from sectarian violence throughout Israel, including in Lod, Umm al-Fahm, Jaffa, and Haifa. An IDF soldier was beaten and seriously injured in Jaffa and a policeman was shot and sustained non-life–threatening injuries in Ramla, where he was evacuated by MDA paramedics and EMTs. A 8-year-old also suffered head injuries after the car she was riding in was stoned in Be’er Sheva.
Despite the violence, Magen David Adom paramedics did get to partake in some life-affirming events as two babies were delivered aboard ambulances Thursday, including a baby delivered aboard the vehicle in the middle of a rocket attack.
“It was a reminder that, even amidst the violence, the killing, and the mayhem, life goes on,” said Yoni Yagodovsky, director of international relations for Magen David Adom. “Even when it comes at an unexpected moment.”
