(Ambulance Today) On Wednesday night, Aug. 8, many residents in the Gaza periphery were up all night due to a constant barrage of rocket fire from Hamas in Gaza. The rocket fire was meant to kill them, their children and their families. 15 people were injured and dozens more suffered from shock and distress. United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Yaakov Bar Yochai in Sderot wrote: Just after 7:30 p.m. the red alert siren sounds and I don't have time to make it to a protective shelter when a massive explosion erupts from somewhere behind me on the next street. I rush over on my ambucycle, and see a man bleeding from cuts in his arm when pieces of shrapnel from the rocket struck him. When I finish treating him, I see that a number of people are suffering from emotional shock and I begin treating and stabilizing them. From there I am dispatched to another location in the next neighborhood where another rocket exploded after striking a direct hit in the courtyard of a house. I treat more people suffering from shock. More sirens begin to sound, and I realize that it will likely be a very long night. I jump from location to location, wherever the rockets fall, treating the people who suffered physical and emotional injuries and comforting others who are suffering from stress reactions. Rockets fall, people get hurt, and I rush to the scene to help them. This was the pattern of my night, just like it was a few weeks ago, and just like it has been, on and off, for the past 12 years.
2018-08-17 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive