Georgi Guliak, a senior paramedic at MDA, woke up Saturday morning and went to his regular shift at the MDA station in Sderot. Just before arriving at the station, he heard gunshots. Victims, including those in serious and critical condition, began to arrive.
“The terrorists passed just a few meters away from the station as they drove in trucks with submachine guns, firing indiscriminately,” said Guliak. “If they had turned left, we probably wouldn’t be here today.
“At that moment, we realized the magnitude of the event and that we were under battlefield conditions without the reinforcement of additional teams.”
As Guliak and colleagues provided initial medical care, massive gunfire was heard outside. The team locked the doors and continued treating the severely wounded until they could be evacuated to hospitals in bulletproof Mobile Intensive Care Unit ambulances (MICUs).
After a few hours, Guliak, who was in command of the MDA teams, learned that terrorists had taken over the police station in Sderot. It wasn’t until evening — after a treatment site was set up by the IDF and MDA — when the paramedics began evacuating the wounded from the police station under live fire and risking their lives. Some of the injured were transferred to hospitals by helicopter.
When the exchange of fire around the police station subsided, the paramedics continued to provide care and evacuate the injured and deceased within Sderot.
“We fought for the lives of the victims in our station and in our city and did everything possible to save them,” said Guliak.
