7 October: "We worked towards one goal"
Two years on from the 7 October attacks in Israel, we have heard many accounts of bravery from Magen David Adom (MDA) colleagues. From staff and volunteers, and from the communities affected.
MDA paramedic, Ofir Peretz, lost his colleague and partner Amit, while responding himself on 7 October. PHOTO: Magen David Adom
Last updated 7 October 2025
At dawn, on 7 October 2023, thousands of lives changed forever. Communities in Israel endured a brutal and horrific attack which killed almost 1,200 people. Over 200 hostages were taken.
From the first moments of the tragedy, 10,000 Magen David Adom first responders mobilised, saving countless lives by providing lifesaving first aid and transporting casualties to hospital.
Conditions were unimaginable. Showing remarkable bravery, Magen David Adom responders faced great risk to themselves.
Since 2023, Magen David Adom teams have dealt with numerous life-threatening emergency incidents across the country, often finding themselves in harm's way.
Read on for stories of bravery on 7 October and in the days since.
Amit Mann, was killed responding to the atrocities on 7 October. PHOTO: Magen David Adom
"I love you, be strong if something happens"
Magen David Adom paramedic Ofir Peretz tragically lost his partner and fellow paramedic Amit Mann, 22, on 7 October 2023.
He says: “On the Friday, I stayed at Amit’s place in Be’eri. In the morning, I drove past the nearby Nova festival. I thought to myself how nice that people are out having fun.
Minutes later, sirens blared. The call centre told me to get on an ambulance and drive to the Netivot entrance, to treat people with gunshot wounds.
I found many people in critical condition, so we opened a treatment site.
Amit called me at 7.30am and told me there was an injured person at the kibbutz and that she went to treat him at the clinic. She called later again, she already had several wounded at the clinic, they also had one dead.
The last time I talked with her was at 2.05pm. “I tried to tell her to keep safe. She told me ‘I’m trying, they’re very close’.
She added, ‘I love you, take care of yourself, and be strong if something happens to me.’”
Moments later, she was shot dead in the clinic. She was a very talented actress, singer and life-saver. Her entire medical journey was amazing to witness and accompany."
Yarin (kneeling) and Gali (standing) are MDA paramedics in West Jerusalem. They saved the life of little Ofek on 7 October. PHOTO: Magen David Adom
"She was such a calm little girl"
Yarin Shetrit is a Magen David Adom paramedic based in West Jerusalem. He helped save 6-year-old Ofek, with his colleague, Gali.
“The back door opened and we saw Ofek with a gunshot wound in her leg and a tourniquet. We could see the situation was critical.
Yarin’s team contacted their Magen David Adom centre to request a helicopter evacuation, and she was transported to hospital immediately.
Ofek’s parents and grandmother were also injured in the attack which occurred in their home but it took two weeks after October 7 before Yarin heard any news about their condition.
“After two weeks of uncertainty, we contacted the family and realised they were shot in the house. But we were happy to hear that everyone was saved.”
A month later, Yarin and his colleague Gali were reunited with Ofek. They brought her a unicorn doll on which was written ‘To Ofek the heroine, with great love, Gali and Yarin from MDA’.
Gali says: “What stuck with me Ofek was her calmness as she was evacuated. Calmness in such a badly injured little girl, is not something trivial. Meeting her again, walking on two legs and smiling is very exciting.”
Haim and his team saved countless lives on 7 October, under extraordinary circumstances. PHOTO: Magen David Adom
"MDA did crazy things to reach us"
Haim Rubin is a Magen David Adom paramedic who saved numerous lives on 7 October 2023.
“At the Revivim junction we saw there were several seriously injured people who needed the helicopter. They looked really grey. We stopped their bleeding, and took them to the helicopter.
We found more injured at Tze'elim Junction. We saw people trying to help a farmer who had lost a leg. I told them to help us carry the wounded and I told the farmer to hop to our ambulance. It was surreal.
From there we drove through the fields as all the other routes were under threat. We reached neighbouring Moshav Neve, and set up a triage and treatment area for the lightly, moderately and severely injured. Cars carrying wounded people starting flowing to the area.
Then, we received another report about a severely injured person nearby. He was lying on the bed, mumbling and bleeding, limbs amputated. With no helicopter immediately available, we treated him with plasma, before he was air-lifted.
He was one of the most complex patients I have treated in all my years as a paramedic.
The situation was a never-ending nightmare. We heard about more and more wounded on their way to us, but we had no equipment left. Sometimes I reused stuff and I also received some equipment from a nurse and our helicopter.
There was a feeling that everyone was working together for one goal. The residents of Neve; the citizens, it was an unbelievable feeling.
The Magen David Adom helicopter crews changed the picture for me. We went and returned, we brought them the wounded again and again. They were our oxygen. They did crazy things in order to reach us."
PHOTO: Magen David Adom
"Evacuation simply wasn't an option for me"
Magen David Adom EMT Idan Avshalom, 21, stayed behind in Kiryat Shmona, Israel’s northernmost city, following an escalation in hostilities that caused civilian casualties and widespread infrastructure damage.
“It was clear to me that I should do what was right, not what was easy. Evacuation simply wasn't an option for me.
“The city became a ghost town with empty streets, and we lived under constant fire. It was terrifying. [One day] I was walking through the city when suddenly I heard a whistle. Right before my eyes, about a hundred metres away, a rocket struck a woman and her young son. I threw myself to the ground, radioed into dispatch, called for backup, and then ran to them with my first-aid bag.
“Both were critically injured, and I was alone. I positioned them side by side, pressing my knee against the mother's bleeding severed leg while applying a tourniquet to her son's wounded leg. I then applied a tourniquet to the mother as well. My colleagues arrived quickly in intensive care ambulances. We placed each patient in separate ambulances and continued treatment during evacuation to the hospital.
“During the ambulance ride to the hospital, we fought for the child's life as his condition rapidly deteriorated. At any moment, we could face additional incoming fire. Fortunately, I later learned that both the mother and son survived.”
“Living alone at home while my entire family was evacuated wasn't simple. However, the Magen David Adom station teams embraced me, and I felt this was where I belonged. When your community needs you most - that is when you must be there for them. That's why I joined Magen David Adom: to save lives and help people."
"We put our feelings and fear aside"
Daniel Stein has been a Magen David Adom volunteer for five years
He lives with his wife and six children in Haifa and since 7 October 2023, he has kept an ambulance on standby near his home to respond quickly to medical emergencies in his area including missile strikes.
“The missile fell in front of our house, really close. There was extensive damage to the house as a result of the impact. I made sure my family was okay, and meanwhile my friend Itzik Arbelich, also a volunteer EMT with Magen David Adom, called me. Itzik usually joins me to treat scenes. When he heard the boom, he immediately called me. I told him that this time the hit was at my home.
“He came immediately and helped me get my children out from the ruins. When everyone was safe, together we went out, started locating wounded people, and evacuated them from the scene. I see this as a great mission—this is why we're here. We put our feelings and fear aside and started doing what we know best: treating the wounded, helping our community.”
Naram was determined to support injured people, despite the terrifying scenes. PHOTO: Magen David Adom
"It was scary, but we wanted to reach the injured"
Naram Zeid is an Arab-Israeli Magen David Adom paramedic from Arad, and responded to the aftermath of the attacks.
She said: “We responded to a call in a place called Mathul. We got there and saw a house had been hit.
“Inside the house we identified a 13-year-old girl and saw a woman of about 60 lying next to each other. Both had sadly died.
"We continued towards Urim Base. We had a report of 50 people who were seriously injured. On the way, we saw many burnt cars.
"It was scary, but we wanted to reach injured people who could be helped.
“I’m very proud of what I did that day. We went and tried to save lives.
Everyone stayed and came here to help save as many lives as possible and I’m very proud of the organisation that I’m in and my job.”
On 7 October 2023 Magen David Adom:
- Received more than 21,000 emergency calls.
- Mobilised more than 10,000 first responders and 1,500 ambulances.
- Evacuated around 1,000 casualties to hospitals using ambulances, mobile intensive care units and helicopters.
Since then its 32,000 staff and volunteers have continued to support communities affected by conflict across the country.