Exactly one month ago, an IDF helicopter landed at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa carrying wounded soldier A., 26, from Gush Etzion, a reservist in the Golani reconnaissance unit.
While still in the field, A. understood that he had been very seriously wounded. Even so, when a young soldier from Rambam’s Ram 2 recovery unit called his father and held the phone to his ear, he told him without hesitation: “Dad, what’s up? I was wounded by an explosive device, but really lightly. I’m in the hospital. Everything is fine. They’re treating me.”
Immediately afterward, A. was taken into the first of a series of surgeries he would undergo because of his injury.
Rambam receives the seriously wounded from the northern front. Those who come there hear from the wounded, their families and soldiers who visit them about how the drones sow fear from the skies. They speak of the stressful and frightening “buzzing” sound that signals the approaching threat, of protective measures only now beginning to arrive, and of stories of heroism. One of them is A.’s story.
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A., a Golani patrol fighter who was injured by an explosive drone while trying to protect his fellow soldiers
(Photo: Courtesy of the family)
“It happened in a drone attack exactly a month ago,” said his father, Eli, who has remained by his son’s side since the injury. “The Golani reconnaissance soldiers, including my son, were near the village of Qantara in Lebanon. At some point, a drone attack began. They entered a building and tried to take cover. Within a short time, one drone exploded on the building, followed immediately by another.
“About 20 minutes later, they noticed a third drone coming toward them. That is when A. decided to act. He understood that Hezbollah had apparently identified the force and assessed that if the drone entered the building, it would cause many casualties. He hoped that if he left the building, he would have a good chance of hitting the drone and preventing a disaster. He went out, opened fire with his personal weapon at the drone, emptied a magazine, but did not manage to bring it down. He knelt to change magazines, and then the worst happened — the drone hit him very badly.”
A. was hit by shrapnel that struck the center of his spine. On its way there, it hit one of his kidneys, which doctors had to remove.
“There is also a rib and a hand that were badly injured, and in addition, shrapnel throughout his body,” his father said.
For 50 minutes, A. received treatment in Lebanese territory, including blood transfusions. He was then evacuated to the hospital together with another soldier who was lightly wounded in the incident.
“He underwent four surgeries and is beginning rehabilitation at Sheba, which is going to be very long and not simple. Right now it is still not rehabilitation, but pain treatment, and that is very complex. All the family members and his close friends are by his side all the time and are trying to help him. His friends from the reconnaissance unit tell us again and again about his act of heroism. We remain optimistic all the time. It will take time, but A. will stand on his feet,” his father said.
If anyone can meet the challenge, it is probably A. His father is an active reservist. Two of his brothers serve in the Duvdevan unit, and another brother serves in the Haruv reconnaissance unit. Those who visit him see a very strong, intelligent young man who understands the severity of his injury but still smiles and speaks mainly about the hard work he and his comrades are doing in different sectors in Lebanon.
Despite the positive attitude, his father also has criticism. “Look how many wounded arrive here almost every day as a result of drone strikes,” he said. “This is an incident that was foreseen long ago, but unfortunately, for years the work was not done, a response to drones was not prepared in time, and now the forces in the field are trying to improvise solutions. I believe a solution will be found, and I understand they are working on it, but it is a shame it did not happen before my son was wounded.”
A. was transferred this week to Sheba, but Rambam will not forget him.
“I have been at Rambam for 20 years. I have seen moving scenes, like officer Tomer Bohadana making a ‘V’ sign with his fingers on the helipad when he was evacuated here during the Second Lebanon War. I have seen moments of uplift, and I have seen scenes of unimaginable bereavement and heartbreak," Hospital spokesman David Ratner said. "But what I saw in the trauma room when A. arrived — I had never seen before: a blood-soaked stretcher carried by 669 soldiers, a young man seriously wounded, truly fighting for his life, and then, with unimaginable mental strength, holding the phone handed to him by a Ram 2 soldier and saying in a quiet, reassuring voice: ‘Dad, I was wounded lightly.’ This man, with his body torn apart, clearly suffering terrible pain, cared most that his father would not panic. Those are 10 seconds I will never forget.”