Staff Sergeant. S., a combat documentation soldier who was seriously wounded on Wednesday in an explosion caused by a booby-trapped drone in southern Lebanon, woke up on Thursday morning after her first surgery, which was completed successfully at Rambam Medical Center. “She walked on foot to the Namer (Israeli armoured personnel carrier), from there she was transferred to a Hummer and from there to a helicopter that took her to the hospital. It was a complicated rescue, it took a long time to get there. They were deep in the field,” her brother Yarden told ynet.
“She called our parents from the hospital and first of all said she was okay. Only afterward did we learn she was hit by an FPV drone in Lebanon. She couldn’t walk at first and they didn’t have a stretcher, so she was assisted by the people evacuating her all the way to the helicopter.”
The surgery she underwent on Wednesday night was due to a fracture in her femur, and the next planned surgery is in her jaw, which was also broken. “She is not on a ventilator or sedated. She woke up, spoke and smiled,” Yarden said. “As soon as she opened her eyes she talked about the materials she had documented. The first thing she did when the explosion was heard was turn on her camera, the GoPro on her uniform. After we spoke with her and the people who were with her, we understood they saw and heard the drone approaching, opened fire at it and it fell and exploded next to them.”
“Drones are a very serious threat. What is most worrying is that there is no solution and the activity continues at the same level. S. did not share with us how she is coping with it. She is deeply focused on her work, mission-driven.”
Sela, the soldier’s other brother, said: “She documents every moment, even when she is seriously wounded. Her first instinct in general is to turn on the camera. Even when she woke up, she immediately asked ‘Where is my camera?’ She said she has a lot of photos to publish, important for public awareness and messaging. She documents everything, even here in her hospital bed.”
For the brothers accompanying S. during her recovery, there is an important message: “Combat documentation soldiers do not receive the recognition of frontline combat soldiers. This is something the entire unit is fighting for, especially recently. It is very important to advance this. S. has moved between Gaza, Syria and Lebanon since the start of the war. She operates alongside all the soldiers, trained as a combat soldier with a rifle qualification of 07. She is first and foremost part of the unit, joins them and operates with them, does everything with them along with the camera. Combat is the foundation, the camera is the addition. First she is a soldier, and alongside that she documents.”
“This recognition as frontline soldiers is important. Combat documentation soldiers perform frontline combat roles, always on the front line. But because they are assigned to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, they do not receive the recognition they deserve. My sister S.’s injury proves what we already know - she is in constant danger, like any other soldier in the unit she joins. This applies to all combat documentation soldiers, men and women. They all fight, return fire, eliminate terrorists and take an inseparable part in intense combat.”
S. is expected to be discharged from the army in about two months and already has plans. “She bought tickets to Italy. It is still unclear how long recovery will take, but if it is up to our sister - she will be back on her feet in two days. She is in good spirits, which is very important.”