Posted on 10/08/23
From Shabbos:
Since the early hours of the morning, hundreds of paramedics, doctors, and EMTs from United Hatzalah have been providing lifesaving medical care on various battlefields in the southern region and have unfortunately had to pronounce many of the injured dead.
At the behest of the security forces on the field, a logistics division truck from the organization transported part of the deceased to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv.
Approximately 100 rescue vehicles, ambulances, and mobile intensive care units, as well as armored vests, helmets, and a significant amount of medical equipment and personnel, were dispatched from the north and center to different areas in the south.
The medevac helicopters of United Hatzalah and Lahak Aviation evacuated some of the injured to hospitals in central Israel and United Hatzalah teams scattered across southern Israel provided initial treatment to hundreds of victims with varying degrees of injury.
The CEO of United Hatzalah has ordered the organization to raise its preparedness to its highest level, reinforce the response to routine calls, and switch the sound of ambulance sirens to a sound that does not resemble the sound of air-raid sirens.
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United Hatzalah Update regarding Operation 'Iron Swords':
From the early morning hours, the medical teams of United Hatzalah continue to provide medical response in various areas in the south and center of the country.
Thus far we have treated nearly 1,000 people for various injuries and have transported many to hospitals in southern and central Israel via ambulance and helicopter.
In a situation assessment that ended a short while ago at the national headquarters of United Hatzalah in Jerusalem, with the participation of the organization's management, department managers, and field commanders, it was decided to further reinforce the medical equipment, in particular the bandages, tourniquets, and gauze material, that ran out for the hundreds of volunteers providing medical assistance in the south of the country due to the increase in casualties.
In addition, more medical and protective equipment will be sent in the coming hours in a special convoy operation to all United Hatzalah volunteer distribution centers across the country in preparation for any scenario of escalation.
United Hatzalah reminds the general public that when an alert siren sounds, they should quickly go to the protected space in a safe and orderly fashion.
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Rabbi and EMT seriously injured in Sderot during shootout near embattled police station
United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Rabbi Chaim Sassi, was seriously injured on Saturday morning by a Hamas terrorist who had infiltrated Sderot shortly after the fighting in the city began. Rabbi Sassi, who serves as the regional Rabbi for the organization in and around Sderot, was attempting to rescue a badly wounded police officer when he was shot by a Hamas sniper who had taken up position inside the city’s police station.
According to Yaakov Bar Yochai, another United Hatzalah volunteer who was an eyewitness to the event, the incident unfolded as follows. “On Saturday, after the fighting broke out in Sderot, I was driving to the location of a medical clinic where I was sent inside Sderot to treat a number of injured. I was unaware that there were terrorists already inside the city. As I was driving I passed Rabbi Sassi who was assisting another injured person and he waved at me telling me that he had it under control and to keep going. But he also warned me that there were terrorists around and that I needed to be careful.”
“I saw bodies lying on the street and I very quickly understood that this was a very serious and dangerous situation. I saw the jeep with the gun on the roof that was so highly publicized on social media later. I reached an area of relative safe cover, and I found a security officer who was badly injured and in need of medical attention, as well as the town’s security chief who was also injured. We came under fire and were pinned down. I saw another security officer who had been shot in the head and was bleeding profusely on the opposite side of the street, but whoever tried to reach him was immediately shot by a sniper who had positioned himself on the roof of the police station. I asked the injured commanding officer, ‘Let me go to him, I’m an EMT I can help save him.’”
“The officer told me that there was a sniper on the roof and that I shouldn’t go because I would be shot myself. A short time later, Rabbi Chaim arrived and quickly saw the scenario. The officer lay dying across the street and we couldn’t reach him. Rabbi Chaim began to plead with the commander, ‘Lay down cover fire, I’ll go to him.’ They laid down cover fire and as soon as Rabbi Chaim rushed out, he was shot in the leg. He ran for cover behind a garbage can and received another shot in the face. He began to lose a lot of blood quickly.”
“This was a close friend of mine, our rabbi. He put his life on the line to save another and now he was bleeding out in front of me. He managed to reach the shot officer, but there was nothing that he could do for him, the man was beyond help. But Rabbi Chaim wasn’t. In addition, there were other officers who lay injured as well nearby. I began to tie water bottles and medical supplies to rocks to throw to Rabbi Chaim so that he could treat himself and others, bandage himself to slow his own blood flow, and help them as best he could.”
“He was changing bandages quickly as they all were drenched with blood too fast. I understood that if we didn’t get him and the other officers out of there soon, they would likely die then and there. We ran to a nearby truck that we found with medical supplies and threw it to him. There were no ambulances in the city because the security forces were only allowing armored ambulances to enter the city due to the security threat. I told the commanding officer, ‘This man is not dying here, let’s get him out and I’ll take him in my car to the hospital.’
The officer said, we will gather a team, lay down a strong wave of cover fire, and get him as well as two other injured security officers out of the danger zone. They gathered a large group of forces, laid down a lot of cover fire, and the sniper stopped firing for a moment long enough for us to get Rabbi Chaim and two other injured officers out of there and into my car.”
“I drove the three injured men to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon as fast as I could. There they underwent life-saving treatment. I cannot say enough about what Rabbi Chaim did. He deserves the highest medal of honor for risking his life to save others.”
Rabbi Chaim Sassi is currently in serious but stable condition in Barzilai Hospital. He is just one of the many first responders who were injured in yesterday’s attacks.
Please pray for his speedy recovery. His Hebrew name is Harav Chaim Ben Tamar.
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From Sunday:
Operation Iron Swords Update from United Hatzalah
Hundreds of United Hatzalah doctors, paramedics, and EMTs are continuing to provide medical assistance to the thousands of wounded in the south and center of the country.
The helicopters of the medevac unit of United Hatzalah and Lahak Aviation evacuated under fire nine seriously injured people on Saturday to hospitals in central Israel, and more today.
United Hatzalah medical teams deployed in and around the various scenes of fighting transported approximately 300 people to various hospitals using dozens of ambulances that arrived to reinforce the south in addition to rescue vehicles. The organization has brought down reserve bulletproof vests, helmets, medical equipment such as bandages and tourniquets, and additional medical personnel from the north and the center of the country to assist in the most hard-hit regions of the Gaza periphery.
Eli Beer, CEO of United Hatzalah: "In these difficult times, I want to send my support to the hundreds of volunteers who have been providing medical assistance in the various areas since yesterday morning. We currently have 1,500 volunteers operating in the Gaza periphery and have treated well over 1,000 people thus far. Our teams are working hand-in-hand with IDF medical units in the field. We will increase the medical personnel and equipment in the south of the country as much as necessary and will continue to provide assistance as needed. I call on the general public to be careful and obey the directives of the Home Front Command. Please enter safe rooms during Red Alert warning sirens and wait there for about 10 minutes, these are instructions that save lives.''
Moshe Levy, United Hatzalah Vice President of Planning and Strategy added: "Starting last night, the organization's logistics teams are moving large amounts of medical equipment to the organization's medical personnel deployed in the various areas in the south of the country. We need the public's help in collecting additional equipment with an emphasis on CPR bags, oxygen cylinders, consumable medical equipment such as bandages and gauze pads, portable chargers, hygiene products, closed water bottles, dry food products that do not require cooking, disposable utensils and more. Citizens, companies, suppliers, etc. who wish to help are asked to contact Doron Daniel immediately at the phone number: 050-348-1221.