A moving closure moment took place Tuesday at Mossad headquarters, when incoming Mossad chief Roman Gofman was reunited with the two United Hatzalah medics who treated him, evacuated him under fire and helped save his life during the Hamas-led October 7 terrorist attack.
Moshe Weizman and Elyashiv Mizrahi were invited to the official ceremony marking Gofman’s entry into the role, closing a circle that began on the burning roads of southern Israel on the morning of the Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7.
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Incoming Mossad chief Roman Gofman meets Moshe Weizman and Elyashiv Mizrahi, the medics who saved him on October 7
That morning, as sirens sounded across the country, the two medics headed into the inferno in the south to save lives. At around 8:30 a.m., near the Bror Hayil junction, a civilian vehicle signaled Weizman to stop. Inside the vehicle lay Gofman, then a brigadier general and commander of the Tze’elim training base, suffering from serious gunshot wounds after fighting terrorists.
Weizman loaded Gofman into the ambulance and began an urgent evacuation, maintaining constant contact with him to keep him from losing consciousness.
Mizrahi, who had heard Weizman’s call over the radio after evacuating wounded people in his private car to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, joined him on the road. Together, the two fought to keep Gofman alive until they reached the hospital.
In a gesture of gratitude, the Prime Minister’s Office and Gofman invited the two medics to the official ceremony at Mossad headquarters.
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Gofman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and outgoing Mossad chief David Barnea (right); 'A full-circle moment that words cannot describe'
(Photo: Haim Zach/GPO)
“In those moments in the ambulance, I did not know this was someone who would one day lead one of the most sensitive and important organizations in Israel,” Weizman said after the ceremony. “We saw a wounded fighter on the road, a brave commander who kept talking to us throughout the evacuation. We had one goal in mind: to keep him conscious and save his life.”
“Who could have imagined that one day he would become head of the Mossad?” Weizman added. “Standing here today at Mossad headquarters and seeing him enter the role of head of the organization is a full-circle moment that words cannot describe.”
Mizrahi recalled hearing Weizman’s call that morning of Oct. 7 and immediately joining the evacuation. “That morning, after I evacuated wounded people to Barzilai, I heard Moshe’s call on the radio and did not hesitate for a moment,” he said. “I joined him on the road so we could fight together for Maj. Gen. Gofman’s life.”
“Standing today at Mossad headquarters and seeing that same wounded fighter from the ambulance receive the keys to the security of the state is an extraordinarily moving closure, and a living reminder of the power of mutual responsibility and life-saving in Israel,” Mizrahi said.