'I am proud of my country and MDA. 'I'm proud of saving lives'

Yaakov Aviezri volunteers as an EMT and ambulance driver. MDALives in Netivot. On the morning of Simchat Torah, he woke up to the sound of explosions. He did not panic; He was used to explosions and an escalating security situation. Yaakov was an ambulance driver whose job was to respond to emergency calls in his area.

“All of a sudden the phone rang,” he recalls. “The screen showed that the caller number was 101. I am a religious person and observe the Sabbath, but if Magen David Adom calls me, it usually means someone’s life is in danger. I answered the call. It was from someone MDA referral center a worker who told me that there had been a few unusual incidents in the area and that he wanted to review safety procedures with me in case I was called. These recommendations are discussed with MDA drivers whenever there is an increase in violence; “This is a reminder of our procedures in case of emergencies.”

But MDA employee The person on the other end of the line didn’t get to the end of his briefing before sending Yaakov on an emergency call: “He suddenly cut himself off mid-sentence. He took a deep breath and told me: ‘There is an incident near Netivot Junction. Set off immediately. ‘Proceed carefully towards the intersection to see what’s happening there and report back to us.’

“I immediately jumped out of bed, put on my shoes and went straight to the ambulance to the address given to me. While on the road, more information was sent to me via our internal system: ‘Terrorist activity – serious injury’ .’

“The dispatch center employee radioed me and begged me to take extra security measures. When I arrived, I saw that another ambulance had arrived first and there were several police cars next to it. I was calm because the area looked protected from the inside. Everything seemed to be fine. Helping treat the injured. I opened the door of the ambulance to take a step forward and suddenly we were met with a loud gunshot. I didn’t realize how important this incident had become.

Yaakov and other doctors treat a wounded soldier (Source: MAGEN DAVID ADOM)

“The doctor in the other ambulance shouted and ordered me to hide. While I was lying on the ground, the money finally dropped, the terrorists were shooting at us! – and all of this happened in a few seconds. Nothing will ever be the same. After those moments, many civilians in the area were shot. The police who were there “He managed to neutralize the terrorists who shot at us. While the terrorists were being neutralized, one of the police officers pointed out, “I thought I could stand up and take the injured to the hospital.”

Yaakov and the teams in other MDA ambulances began evacuating the injured. “When a military vehicle suddenly arrived and aggressively blocked me, I immediately got into the ambulance; A few soldiers came out and shouted, ‘Help! Help!'”

Yaakov saw them getting the two injured men out of the car; a young couple, both seriously injured and missing their legs. Yaakov checked that the tourniquets were applied properly and their bleeding was under control. He put the man in his ambulance and the woman in another ambulance at the scene, and both were taken to the emergency room as quickly as possible.

terrible driving

Yaakov describes the dramatic journey there and what was going through his mind at the time: “On the road, the scene was completely different from what it normally is: cars burning on the sides of the road; An enormous amount of black smoke rises from the fields and orchards; I could barely see the road. What about the smell? A smell I will never forget, the smell of death and burnt bodies.

“But there was no time to think. My mission was clear and that was all I could focus on. In my mind, I heard a voice inside me saying, ‘Save them!’ “The MDA dispatch center had already asked the hospital to prepare the trauma room. Along the way, I begged the patients not to fall asleep and not to close their eyes.”

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After transferring the patients to the medical team at Soroka Hospital, Yaakov returned to the Netivot MDA station to clean all the bloodstains from the ambulance. He then called his colleagues and asked them to join him in the ambulance to help him through the remainder of his shift.

Suddenly a siren went off and everyone at the MDA station ran to take shelter in the bomb shelter. Then there was a huge explosion. Everyone understood that this was not a successful interception of the Iron Dome missile defense system. Thirty seconds later, Yaakov and his team went out to treat those injured by the rocket that hit the city.

When they arrived at the scene, they found three members of a family: a young man was dead and two other men were seriously injured. “We immediately started resuscitation, stopped the bleeding, and rushed back to the hospital, but their condition was so bad. I shouted over the radio and asked the call center to send an intensive care team to meet us. They arrived at Gilead Junction with minimal delay. Unfortunately, these patients did not make it,” he says. Yaakov sadly.

“Ultimately, we evacuated dozens of injured people to hospitals, mobile intensive care units and MDA air ambulances used by Black Sabbath (police officers, soldiers and civilians). To me, ‘Black Sabbath is not just another phrase. That Black Sabbath was the bloodiest day I have ever experienced; An incredible amount of blood, dark blood that had long since lost its redness. “When you’re dealing with such a large amount of blood, it looks black,” he says.

“In the days following Black Sabbath, I had to juggle fighting and saving lives, between IDF reserve duty and MDA medical shifts. Wherever I am, I try to contribute as much as I can whenever I have. My heart goes out to those who lost their loved ones. I hope that we will see better days and that our hostages will return home safely, with God’s help. Elhanan, Orian and Golan; You are the best team I could ask for. Thanks to you, we managed to save lives. I wouldn’t have made it even a minute without you. Never forget: There is only one State of Israel; The People of Israel are alive and together we will win. I am proud of my country and Magen David Adom. “I’m proud that I was able to save lives.”

terrible driving

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