Magen David Adom Heroes
of October 7

Already on the first night of the terrorist attack, as the picture regarding the scope of events began to clarify slightly, all Magen David Adom teams were deployed nationwide and on full alert for the continuation of the challenges. The organization carefully reviewed the intensive operational activity, which continued into the morning hours of Sunday, October 8, including preparations for continued treatment of casualties, among them IDF forces still fighting in some of the Gaza Envelope communities where fighting against terrorists continued. Concurrently, the organization provided immediate response to casualties in the home front from missile and rocket fire.

During the unbearable hours, as the State of Israel began to learn of the incomprehensible number of murdered and killed, including Senior Medic Aharon Haimov of blessed memory, six additional Magen David Adom crew members were still defined as out of contact: Paramedic Amit Man and Senior Medic Aviya Hatzroni, both from Kibbutz Be'eri; Medics Ronen Tommy Engel and Dolev Yehud from Kibbutz Nir Oz; Medic Michel Nisenbaum from Sderot; and Medic Lior Rudayeff from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak. In the days that followed, the terrible news would become clear: all were murdered in the October 7 events. The bodies of Michel, Ronen, and Lior were held by Hamas for a long period afterward. Dolev Yehud was located in the kibbutz area only in June 2024.

Amidst the cloud of uncertainty, despite the heavy grief and out of national responsibility to maintain continuity of emergency medical response, several processes took place concurrently on October 8. Coordination and cooperation with the IDF continued throughout the night, and in the morning hours, the national blood donation campaign continued in protected locations, prioritizing those with needed blood types. In view of the growing needs of hospitals, which received many wounded, the campaign that began in the early morning hours of October 7 continued. The public responded to Magen David Adom's call, and thousands came to donate blood, despite the incessant missile attacks. On that day, approximately 4,000 units of blood were donated, and the campaign continued to increase the national blood supply and ensure its continued provision to the IDF and hospitals during wartime.

The collection of more than 4,000 units of blood per day also continued on Sunday, October 8, and Monday, October 9. All blood units were transferred to the new National Blood Bank, a structure protected from missile and other attacks, to maintain the national blood supply, which was built entirely from donations initiated by Magen David Adom. The new blood bank began operating on October 9 and allows blood units to be processed and stored in a protected manner without interruption.

Concurrently with the response to events in the Gaza Envelope and the South, emergency mobilization orders were sent in the early morning hours to hundreds of soldiers of Magen David Adom's reserve unit, ITAM. According to the mobilization plan, reserve paramedics and medics arrive directly at Magen David Adom stations across the country, reinforce emergency dispatch centers, staff additional ambulances and Mobile Intensive Care Units, and prepare in reinforcement convoys. As part of the preparation and transition to emergency routine, Magen David Adom and ITAM teams are stationed at alternative protected dispatch points in threatened areas near the Lebanese border.

The threat from the northern border and the possibility of opening another front lead to preparations in the community healthcare system as well. Starting in the afternoon hours of October 8, a request is received from the Ministry of Health to assist in the national mission of transferring ventilated patients from the northern border, from the Hula Valley area, and from institutions in central Israel that lack adequate protection, to areas designated by the Ministry as safe. Magen David Adom teams are dispatched to carry out the mission using ambulances, special intensive care buses, and other vehicles designed for evacuating multiple patients simultaneously.

The Magen David Adom CEO instructs the organization to prepare for a prolonged war. Among the prominent instructions: to stock up on supplies sufficient for three months of fighting, to purchase additional protective equipment, and to immediately work to expedite the arrival of ambulances in Israel. At ambulance manufacturing plants in the United States and Europe, ambulances intended for shipment to Israel as part of routine operations were found, and the CEO instructed them to be flown to Israel without delay. In the days that followed, special approval was received from the Ministry of Defense to allocate space for these ambulances on aid planes arriving in Israel. This move leads to a significant strengthening of the ambulance fleet in preparation for the expansion of the military campaign.

The organization's preparation also takes place outside Israel's borders. Magen David Adom's international unit of volunteer doctors and paramedics prepares for action. Dozens of doctors and paramedics from the United States, Canada, France, and other countries arrive in Israel and join Magen David Adom employees and volunteers in ambulances and Mobile Intensive Care Units on the front lines. This preparation was made possible thanks to cooperation, training, and joint exercises that have taken place for many years.