Israeli Jews and Arabs at Israel's largest medical center unite to treat war wounded and save lives

Israeli Jews and Arabs at Israel's largest medical center unite to treat war wounded and save lives


SHEBA MEDICAL CENTER, TEL HASHOMER HOSPITAL, Israel – Hospitals in Israel are reaching their limits after more than six months of treating civilians, former hostages and wounded soldiers from the fighting in Gaza.

One positive outcome of the stress and tension is the way Israeli Jews and Arabs work side by side to save lives.

The workers at Sheba Medical Center almost always feel like they are in a situation where there is a war going on.

Steve Walz, the hospital's spokesman, said: “On October 7th, we learned that something terrible was happening near Gaza, and we started receiving the influx of patients, you know, in the afternoon, the evening of the 8th.” October. That was the busiest day.”

More than a thousand soldiers and civilians were treated here, Walz said CBN News Cases include trauma, psychological stress, and gunshot and shrapnel wounds. Then the hostages came.

“We had a special team that just dealt with the hostages – where they had a doctor, a psychologist and a social worker who looked after each hostage,” Walz recalls. “And so far we are dealing with 32 hostages and a dog.”

The Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer Hospital is the largest medical facility in Israel. Around 70 percent of the Israeli Defense Forces soldiers wounded since October 7th have been treated.

“So we learned on the run, and all the doctors who dealt with the hostages and even the wounded soldiers had to more or less throw away the medical book,” Walz said, adding, “We're rewriting it because they Doctors see wounds from the soldier's perspective, serious wounds that we have never seen before – because unfortunately every few years ammunition is improved so that it is more harmful to the body.” “

Walz is also personally affected by this.

“One morning in late October a helicopter arrived and it was brought to my attention,” he told us, “and a minute or two later my daughter called and said it was Eliyah, my son. The seriously wounded father-in-law landed in Sheba after he had been wounded by a mortar and a sniper while getting out of his tank to check something on his tank.

After several surgeries and months in the hospital, Eliyah is doing well.

“He’s a hero,” Walz explained. “And he has received an enormous amount of loving care here, like every soldier. It was traumatic for the entire family. Of course also for my daughter, who – they were married for less than a year – and he made it out of the coma faster than anyone thought and rehabilitated.

Roey, a reservist, fought against terrorists in Israeli border communities for the first time on October 7th. Then the call came to Gaza, where he was wounded and then taken to Saba.

Roey said of the staff: “They are really, really great – they give you everything you need. And they do their best so that you can be physically like you were before the war and mentally.”

Roey believes he still has a long recovery ahead of him and the trauma remains, but he is hopeful.

“I want to get back to work as soon as possible so I can continue my normal life as best as possible,” Roey said. “But I know that part of me was still in Gaza. We are strong and we are united and we will win this.”

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Aaron, a reserve soldier, was on a business trip when Hamas invaded.

“I returned from the United States and joined my unit in the south as we prepared to be part of the first wave of ground operations in Gaza,” Aaron recalled.

After weeks of training, they entered the Gaza Strip on foot, going from house to house and searching for tunnel entrances.

“From the second we got there we were constantly being shot at. So, AK 47, snipers, RPGs, anti-tank missiles, mortar shells. You get used to this cacophony of explosions all around you. But of course you know, it’s hard,” Aaron explained.

Fifteen days later, his unit came under fire while passing a United Nations-run school.

“So my commander stops and says, 'Let's ask permission to go into the house,'” he said. “And as he stopped to do that, there was a sniper behind the school waiting for the opportunity to shoot,” one of our officers said.

As Aaron ran to save his commander, the sniper shot him in the leg, side and back.

It's incredible. “It’s a miracle,” Aaron explained. “The fact that I can keep my leg, that I will make a full recovery. None of that is a given.”

He has been at the center for about four months.

He noted how well he was treated: “The unique way the people come together here, the feeling that the Arab Israelis and the Jewish Israelis here in Saba are united for one purpose: to provide impeccable, incredible care .” “

Walz calls Sheba a prime example of how Israelis work together.

25% of our personnel are Israeli Arabs, Jews and Arabs who work side by side to save the lives of civilians and soldiers alike. There is no differentiation, which is what we do throughout the year with Palestinians we treat from Gaza in the West Bank. 4:41>

To be successful, Walz says Sheba remains a politics-free zone.

“You go through the door here. We check our policies at the door.” “We are a hospital with one hope, without borders,” he emphasized. “The war is outside our doors and inside is the fight to save lives.”

Source: www2.cbn.com

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