This was not how Sgt. First Class (res.) A., a combat medic in an artillery battalion, and Master Sgt. (res.) M., from the battalion’s logistics unit, imagined their honeymoon. The two rode together in a military Humvee, M. driving and A. at her side, going in and out of Lebanon since the start of Operation Roaring Lion.
“At first we were in the northern area, not inside Lebanon, but at a certain stage one of the batteries went in,” M. told Yedioth Ahronoth and ynet. “Every day a logistics convoy went into Lebanon to supply the battery in every respect. It’s very intense — not something we’re used to or thought we would be doing in reserve duty.”
A. and M. have known each other for about a decade through reserve service. In the years before the October 7 massacre, they were simply in the same battalion, but after the outbreak of the war — known in Israel as the “Swords of Iron” war — something changed. They were called up together on Sunday, October 8, 2023, and spent four uninterrupted months side by side.
“On Sunday, October 8, 2023, we were called up. The service together became more intense and we started going out,” M. said. Their first date, in fact, took place during reserve duty itself, in staging areas where they went to recharge.
A. said the beginning was relatively easy because they were constantly together during reserve service. After the first rotation, however, they had to contend with the distance between their homes. “When the first rotation ended, I moved to the community where she lives,” said A., originally from Netivot, who relocated during the war to northern Samaria to live with his partner after realizing she was the one.
As the war continued, they faced challenges beyond distance. The rotations were long — sometimes out of sync with each other. “There were reserve rotations when we didn’t see each other for a very long time,” M. said. “It’s complicated. We’re now in our fifth rotation since the war began, each lasting between two and three months. It puts life on hold.”
Still, A. did not hesitate. Less than two years into their relationship, he proposed. Just over two years after they began dating, the two were married — in the very place it all started.
“At first we thought about getting married at the Dead Sea, and then one of our friends from reserve duty suggested we marry where we deployed on October 8,” A. said.
M. added: “It was near a villa, and the owner became part of us, part of the battalion, during the four months we were there. He’s an extraordinary person. Suddenly, it felt very natural to get married where we met.”
They were married on Thursday, October 23, 2025, officiated by the battalion rabbi.
After five reserve rotations since October 7 — and a wedding held where they met in southern Israel — A. and M. found themselves in an unusual situation: supporting their artillery reserve battalion in the mud of Lebanon. As the fighting progressed, members of the administrative support company were required to enter Lebanon to assist forces on the ground.
“Our support from across the border was no longer relevant,” A. said.
Two weeks ago, during one of the convoys entering Lebanon, A. and M. were together as always — she delivering logistical supplies and he providing medical support.
“We finished our mission and waited for the rest of the convoy to complete theirs,” A. recalled. “While we were standing there, someone shouted ‘drone,’ and we ran toward the only shelter available. Because it was an area the unit had only recently stationed, there weren’t many fortified places to take cover.”
As they ran, the drone exploded nearby, and shrapnel struck M.
“She was hit and there was a lot of bleeding from her arm,” A. said.
He said they quickly laid her down in a protected spot and began treatment. “I immediately put a tourniquet on her to stop the bleeding, and we started evacuating her back to Israeli territory.”
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Sgt. First Class (res.) A and Master Sgt. (res.) M. in the hospital
(Photo: Courtesy)
The incident deeply worried him, he said, but he was able to calm down once he realized the injury was not life-threatening. “During the evacuation we saw she also had shrapnel near her eye, which was quite frightening,” he added.
After receiving initial treatment in the field, M. was evacuated to the border and from there to a hospital, with her husband by her side.
“It was a very unpleasant situation, there were moments of pressure,” M. said. “I never imagined I’d have a tourniquet put on me, but I don’t regret going in. In the end, it’s part of this and why we’re here.”
After two days at her side in the hospital emergency room, A. had to return to reserve duty in Lebanon.
“I was very upset not to be with her, but if I hadn’t gone in, someone else would have had to, and that didn’t feel right,” he said.
M. intends to return to reserve service, that once she recovers. “I don’t know if I’ll go back to the battalion the way I was before, because recovery will take some time, but I hope by the next rotation I’ll be able to return and help. It’s part of our lives.”