'The Widest Heart There Could Be'
A 43-year-old Medical Corps serviceman(Unit 669), paramedic and rescue fighter, died after returning from reserve duty in Gaza. His mother and sister speak of a child of generosity, sensitivity and responsibility; a man who chose throughout his life to save others and even in his final moments, made sure to make people laugh.
The child who did not cry
From the very first moment, it was clear that Dudi Digmi was a special child. “I gave birth at Wolfson Hospital,” recalls his mother, Geva Digmi. “There were several women in the room, and babies were crying nonstop. Then they looked at Dudi and asked, ‘How is it that your baby isn’t crying?’” For her, it was the first sign of his character: quiet, calm, observant. His sister, Elit, remembers him as “a chubby, sweet baby, the kind you just want to take a bite of.”
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David, known to everyone as Dudi, was born on Oct. 30, 1980. He was the eldest child in the family, a brother to Elit and Assaf. The home was full of laughter. “At Friday night dinners, he would make us laugh endlessly,” Elit says. The bond between them was close and strong, a bond of growing up together and deep friendship. “We truly had a very special connection.”
A heart that saw others
Even as a child, Dudi stood out for his exceptional sensitivity. “He wasn’t a problematic kid,” his mother says. “He was a child who helped. A lot.” She tells of a girl in his class who underwent back surgery. “Dudi would go to her every morning, carry her backpack, walk her to school, and at the end of the day bring her home with her bag.” “What a gentle soul he had,” his sister Elit says. “Such sensitivity. A truly good child.” She emphasizes that for him, giving was not a fleeting gesture but a way of life. “He constantly saw the other. It was giving on a level you rarely see.” His mother recalls that he loved building with Lego, crafting things out of wood, watching television, and that he had an infectious laugh. “Even if it wasn’t funny, you would laugh.”
The moment he understood his calling
Dudi began his military service in the Samson Unit. He completed his training, took a combat medic course and went to the line. After nearly two years, a formative event occurred, an encounter in which his commander was wounded. “Dudi was the first to reach him in the field,” his sister Elit says. “He fought for his life. He evacuated him to the hospital, but he didn’t survive.” The commander was 19 or 20 years old at the time. The event deeply shook Dudi. “I think that’s where he understood his purpose in life,” his sister says. “To save lives. And from there, he only moved forward with it.”
A career of saving lives
After completing his mandatory service, Dudi began working for Magen David Adom. He later completed paramedic training and eventually became an instructor with United Hatzalah. “He had incredible knowledge,” his sister Elit says. He continued to develop professionally, passed the selection for Unit 669 and served there in the reserves. In civilian life, he worked as a physician’s assistant, first at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba and later at Wolfson Medical Center.
At the same time, he was a devoted father to his two sons: Matan and Harel. “He took care of them, wrapped them in love,” his mother says. “They would travel together on weekends. He would buy things for them, invest in them.”
October 7 and a different return
On October 7, Dudi was at home. At 6:30 a.m., everything began. Within hours, his bag was packed. “Where are you going?” his sister asked. “They’re mobilizing everyone,” he replied. Elit says that three weeks later, he was briefly released to rest for a weekend. During that weekend he was already called again. “Within two and a half hours, they told them to be at the outposts, entering Gaza.”
When he returned, something in him had changed. “The image of him before entering Gaza and the image of him after, it wasn’t the same person,” Elit says. “Something there broke.” He stayed home for the weekend and was supposed to return on Sunday. His sister asked him to take another break. “There are other medics, other paramedics,” she said. She managed to convince him. He asked for more time off, and it was approved. On his way home, his car overturned.
The final drive
On his way home, Dudi’s car overturned on Route 6. “Something inexplicable,” Elit says. He was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a severe concussion. The family noticed something was wrong. “He wasn’t himself.” Dudi begged to go home. “I’m not used to seeing my brother beg,” his sister says. They took him home, without thinking something might happen. The next day, when his mother tried to wake him around noon, he did not wake up.
David (Dudi) Digmi died on the 23rd of Cheshvan 5784, Nov. 7, 2023, at age 43. He served as a master sergeant in the Medical Corps, unit 669.
What remains
During the shiva, many people came and told the family stories they had never known. “We didn’t know half of what he did,” his mother says. “How many people he helped.”
Today, the family is learning to live with the absence. “Holiday evenings are the hardest,” Elit says. “He will always be missing.” What she asks people to remember about him is simple and clear: “A person with the widest heart. With the greatest generosity in the world. And the number of lives he saved.” “Even in my final moments with my brother,” she says, “he remained himself. He made sure to turn everything into something funny.” That is how they remember Dudi, a lifesaver, brother, son and father, a man of giving to the very end.
Master Sgt. David (Dudi) Digmi was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Holon. He is survived by his two sons, his parents and two siblings.
May his memory be a blessing.
Master Sergeant
David (Dudi) Digmi OBM