Following Hezbollah’s intense rocket fire from Lebanon towards northern Israel over the weekend, Magen David Adom EMTs and paramedics pronounced a 51-year-old man dead and provided medical treatment to 14 injured people in northern Israel.

The areas hit by the rocket fire were Akko, Krayot, and the Western Galilee. All of the injured people were evacuated by MDA teams to Rambam Medical Center and the Galilee Medical Center. MDA treated two people in moderate condition, eight people in light condition, and four others suffering from shock.

“We were very close by and got out of the ambulance to defend ourselves,” said Senior MDA medic Ofek Zbruev who was one of the first at the scene in Kiryat Ata.

“Suddenly, we heard a powerful explosion, and shrapnel flew in our direction. We returned to the ambulance and immediately went out to a nearby street where the rocket had landed. We saw that a building had been hit and there was commotion from people rushing out of it. Then, wounded people started coming to us for help. After we treated the injured people, we searched the building to make sure there weren’t any others inside.”

At the same time in the Western Galilee, MDA teams treated and evacuated four people who had been injured by shrapnel falling near their vehicle on an open road. Among those injured were a 30-year-old man in moderate condition and three others who sustained minor injuries. They were all evacuated to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya.

Later in the day, a car carrying two men was hit directly by shrapnel near Akko. When the alert siren sounded, the driver of the car stopped the car alongside the road. Suddenly, they heard an explosion before he and his passenger could get out of the car. The driver did not have time to bend over during the siren but the passenger next to him was able to bend down and put his head between his knees, saving his life. The driver was very injured so badly by the shrapnel that he was killed.

“We arrived at the scene quickly and saw a vehicle hit directly,” said MDA paramedic Orit Ohana. “Inside the car was a 50-year-old man who had stopped on the side of the road and was hit by shrapnel.” Another man who is in his 40s was lightly wounded and was evacuated to Galilee Medical Center by MDA.

“We saw before our eyes the importance of obeying the instructions of the Home Front Command,” observed senior EMT Alex Motzkin. “In this case, even though the passenger did not manage to get out of the car, he ducked down and saved his life.”