'They're shooting at the ambulance, the station, they’re shooting everywhere'

The story of Sderot’s MDA station on that dark Saturday is a story of teamwork, resourcefulness, and self-sacrifice. Generally speaking, by 6:30 AM, the night shift is almost over, and the morning shift is about to begin.

That morning, one of the Mobile Intensive Care Unit vehicles was being operated by Netanel Dahbash and David (Dado) Azriel, one of the longest-serving drivers on the Sderot team. During the night, the team had dealt with a patient and returned to the station at 6 AM. Everything was quiet; there was a gentle morning breeze. The partners were beginning to plan the day ahead and the Simchat Torah festivities with their families.

Suddenly, the sound of sirens tore through the still air. Even for the Sderot MDA team, who have grown used to sirens over the years, this was out of the ordinary: the fact that there hadn’t been any warning signs, the early hour of the strikes, and the intensity of the never-ending barrage. After 15 minutes, they left the safe rooms and heard gunfire. “We didn’t understand exactly what it was, but we knew something very unusual was happening.”

Dahbash and Dado’s team, together with the other night shift teams and those who had arrived to take the morning shift, quickly understood that they were operating in what was now a battleground. Everything moved fast: a speeding car pulled up at the station with a screech of the brakes; someone shouted: “There are terrorists in Sderot!”; calls for help; injured people crying in pain.

The memories have since blurred into each other. The speeding car that pulled up carried a man who was critically injured, having sustained gunshot wounds in all parts of his body: chest, abdomen, and limbs. By that point, the MDA staff members realized this wasn’t just a case of missile fire; gunmen were inside the city. They closed the entrance gate of the MDA station and started treating the gunshot victim.

Meanwhile, other residents of Sderot who had been shot began to arrive at the MDA station, a place that symbolized healing and care. One car after the other, more and more casualties arrived at the station, all bearing serious injuries.

A miraculous arrival

At this point, paramedic Amit Hananya arrived at the station. He left his home in Ashkelon and miraculously did not cross paths with the terrorists, just like another paramedic, Georgie Guliak. They were joined by paramedics Ariel Elbaz and Hillel Holodenko and EMTs Odelia Suisa, Yaniv Tayer, and Meir.

They quickly understood that this time, the situation was different from anything they were used to, and so they opened a treatment center inside the station. They turned the kitchen into a treatment area for walking wounded, while the safe room was designated for treating those unable to walk.

They stopped patients’ bleeding, bandaged the wounded, and gave fluids and plasma to those in need. But the EMTs and paramedics soon realized that they would need to get their patients to the hospital to save their lives. At the same time, they saw a truck filled with terrorists pass by on the street and realized they had a decision to make.