“Even though the shift was over, we were going to stay as long as necessary”

Anis Abu Dabas, a paramedic and MDA instructor for the Negev region, did a double shift from Friday, October 6 until the morning of Saturday, October 7 at the MDA Station in Rahat, with the driver Amin al-Malat and the paramedic course trainee Roy Bar Or. The double shift was almost over when suddenly sirens sounded. “They were longer and more intense than usual,” Anis recalls. “We looked at each other and realized it wasn’t just another alarm, but something different. One ambulance was sent to assist in the Netivot area, and it was clear to all of us that even though the shift was over, we were going to stay as long as necessary. A short time later, a minibus suddenly stopped at the entrance to the Station. We immediately noticed that it was perforated with bullet holes and its windows were shattered. We boarded it and started treating the wounded, and it turned out that it was a transport of Rahat residents who had gone to work in the Gaza Envelope and were shot by terrorists. That’s when we realized that something very serious was happening. We are MDA personnel; we are trained to respond quickly and efficiently. We quickly assessed the situation with the morning teams, received instructions and prepared to treat a large number of wounded under fire,” says Anis.

Part of our training is to set expectations within the team. Anis spoke with Roy, a paramedic course trainee at the end of his training. “Even though we had been at the station for over 17 hours, I didn’t see any hesitation in his eyes. It was clear that we were all here to save lives. I remember one chilling moment when we suddenly heard the voice of our colleague and friend, paramedic Danny Shtarkman, head of the Ofakim station. He reported that they encountered an ambush, that the ambulance had been shot at, and that one of the crew members had been hit. These were MDA people, our friends. Uniformed people like us who went out to save lives in an ambulance. We felt many emotions – fear and worry on the one hand, and determination and commitment to go out and save lives on the other hand.”

The team was sent to the Ofakim sector, where terrorists murdered civilians, including Aharon Chaimov, may God avenge his blood, who was murdered in his ambulance while he was on his way to treat the wounded. “We reached several seriously wounded people, started performing lifesaving procedures, applied tourniquets, and then a siren sounded, followed by a very loud ‘boom’. A rocket hit literally a few yards away from us, and then there was another siren, and more shooting. It was a real battlefield, and we were treating victims under fire.”

At some point, Anis received a call from Dvir Ben Zeev, a paramedic from the Rahat Station, who was on vacation with his family in the north that Saturday morning. “He asked what was going on. I told him the situation was very serious. He said, ‘I’m on the way.’ He drove from the north of Israel to Rahat without being asked to; he didn’t have to, but he came and replaced me after almost a full day of work. I felt the shared destiny, I felt the support, and I am sure that thanks to this spirit, we will win,” concludes Anis.

“It was clear to me that I was coming to replace him so he could rest a little after more than 20 hours of on the job,” Dvir explains. “I replaced him, and they sent us to the Urim army base, where there were dozens of wounded. I realized that I was the first paramedic to arrive. It was terrible to come to a scene with the intention of saving lives and in the end to find more and more dead people who could not be saved. At one point, we were dispatched to a civilian with a very serious gunshot wound to the head. I think it was the first time I was really scared. The shooting is right at you. Fear of death. And you must overcome the fear because your wounded patient needs you. While the shooting continued, I anesthetized the wounded man, put him on a respirator, gave him medication and fought for his life. Five days later, I finally received the news that he had opened his eyes. It was an almost 24 hour shift that started when my best friend texted me that he needed me. The only optimistic thing about this whole situation was this friendship. Those uniformed MDA people are my family, and I will come whenever they need me, no matter where they need me,” Dvir insists.