The men and women of the MDA dispatch center were the ones who sent their friends into the field in ambulances; they were the ones who received reports from Amit Mann, may God avenge her blood, and from Avia Hetzroni, may God avenge his blood, who were murdered in Be’eri; they were the ones who received reports of many MDA personnel who were shot and wounded inside ambulances on their way to save lives, including Aharon Haimov, may God avenge his blood. Despite everything, the 101 dispatchers continued to provide a response amidst the chaos and focus on the mission before them: saving lives.
Liz Peretz Katz, a shift supervisor at the MDA dispatch center in the Negev Region, also found herself, time and again, in inconceivable situations that Saturday.
“Calls for help regarding gunfire were received. Among others, we dispatched a Mobile Intensive Care Unit from Ofakim, carrying Peter Lesnik and Danny Shtekerman. A few minutes later, Danny reported over the radio that he was being shot at in the Urim Junction area and that the terrorist cell was advancing toward Ofakim. Then, one of the dispatch managers, Omri Levi, shouted that another ambulance driver, Aharon Haimov, was very close to Urim, near where the terrorist cell was supposed to be,
and now he wasn’t answering him. I also tried to contact him, but he didn’t answer—not on the radio, not by phone, and not via messages. We received reports of numerous shooting incidents around his location and were very worried. Meanwhile, I received a call from Meir Elmaliach, the Netivot station manager. He reported that his close friend, volunteer ambulance driver Avia Hetzroni, had been shot by terrorists and was bleeding. He asked us to save him. He had dragged himself to the safe room, and I reminded him how to stop the bleeding.
I spoke with him several times; from one call to the next, he grew weaker and weaker until he no longer answered. At the same time, the dispatch team, myself included, were dispatching ambulances to emergency calls, fighting for evacuations in an impossible situation, communicating with the army to coordinate helicopter evacuations, and directing ambulances to temporary treatment sites in Naveh, Ofakim, Netivot, and more.
Amit Mann also called us several times from the clinic in Be’eri, reporting on the condition of the wounded and asking what was happening. At one point, a civilian reported to us that an ambulance had been involved in an accident and that its driver appeared unconscious. We immediately understood it was Aharon Haimov. Aharon, Avia, and Amit. They were all murdered while trying to save lives.”
