On October 7, an MDA ambulance driver and EMT used his volunteer experience to save lives

MDA ambulance driver and EMT Rafi Samet was at his home on Kibbutz Kissufim when the events of that Black Shabbat began. “On Friday night, I was on call, and I parked the ambulance outside my house. At 6:30 AM on Saturday, the ‘Code Red’ sirens sounded; I dressed quickly and prepared myself to go out in case a missile fell somewhere inside the kibbutz. That’s what happens generally – we wait until the missiles stop falling and then search for anyone who may be injured.” But this time, as we know, everything was different.

“We began hearing falling missiles and the explosions of what we later found out were grenades and bombs,” Rafi recalls. “My grandson is a soldier, and he was home that weekend. While the ‘Code Red’ continued, he sheltered in a nearby bomb shelter; when he came out, he saw some people dressed as soldiers and approached them to ask if they needed help. But these were terrorists dressed in IDF uniforms. They shot him, and he was wounded in the arm and the thigh. Despite his wounds, he was able to make his way to my house and shout to me that he’d been shot. I brought him into our safe room and ran to the ambulance to bring medical equipment. On my way out, they shot me too. I sustained a bullet wound in my right hand, but I continued to run home. I bandaged myself up quickly and continued treating my grandson. I would have evacuated myself to the hospital using the ambulance I usually drive, but I saw that it had been completely destroyed. They shot all four tires, as well as the side of the ambulance and the windows.” 

It was clear that any medical personnel called in to evacuate them would themselves be injured. For several long hours, Rafi put into practice the knowledge and experience he had gained throughout his time volunteering as an MDA medic to treat himself and his injured grandson so that both of them could hold out until a military rescue team arrived on the scene.