Israeli soldier wounded whilst freeing kibbutz wants to return to frontline

Published

1 year ago

October 22, 2023

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Hands pulling the wheels on his wheelchair, a young Israeli soldier led the way into his hospital bedroom, both legs patched up after surgery for three gunshot wounds.

The reservist, a member of an elite unit called the counter-terror school, was wounded as he helped to recapture a rural community near Gaza that had been overrun by Hamas militants.

Two weeks into his recovery, the soldier, who asked to go by the initial “D”, said he hopes to be able to return to the frontline in Israel’s war with Hamas.

Follow live: First aid trucks enter Gaza as border crossing with Egypt opens

“Hell yeah,” the 22-year-old said, showing how he is already trying to stand up despite a particularly serious wound to the back of his left leg.

The soldier is being treated at a sprawling hospital complex on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

In the past few days, doctors at a rehabilitation department inside the Sheba facility have expanded almost two-fold their capacity to rehabilitate wounded soldiers in anticipation of demand rising because of the war.

Professor Israel Dudkiewicz, chairman of the rehabilitation division at the Sheba Medical Centre, said the injuries that are already being treated are from bullets, shrapnel and bombs.

Asked whether the hospital would be able to handle an influx of wounded troops should Israel launch a ground invasion into Gaza, he said: “The answer is yes. We’re going to deal with how many that we need, for how long that we need. We know how to do it and we’re going to be here.”

Hardest part was ‘thinking twice before you pull the trigger’

Soldier D recalled what happened to him when he responded to an unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel on 7 October that killed more than 1,400 people, mainly civilians.

A reservist, he said he grabbed his uniform, body armour and weapons as news first broke about the carnage that was unfolding against communities that sit close to the Gaza Strip.

Soldier D assembled with other troops at a base before receiving the order to move towards a kibbutz called Be’eri that had been overrun.

By this point it was around 7pm in the evening – more than 12 hours after the attack began.

His commander told the men they needed to be ready for “harsh views” as they prepared to enter the site – now known to have been the location of one of the worst killings by Hamas.

“I looked straight and could see burning buildings, destroyed buildings, a lot of dead corpses – most of them were children and women,” said Soldier D.

With the militants still at large, his unit was ordered to try to find civilians who might still be hiding inside the small stone houses that made up the community of around 1,000 residents.

The soldier said he was warned some of the attackers might be dressed in Israeli security uniforms or civilian clothing, making them hard to distinguish.

The unit also had to be careful not to open fire on other Israeli forces involved in the rescue.

“You had to think twice before you pull the trigger. That was the hardest part,” he said.

Approaching a house that had flames coming out of the roof, the soldier peered in through a window to look for occupants.

He said he could make out a couple in their late 50s or early 60s. They looked to be in shock and unaware that their house was burning.

He asked the women if there were any attackers inside.

“She only answered to me with: ‘Water. I need water to drink’.”

He decided to climb through the window to help them.

“They both look at me, terrified, the faces are black, dry eyes, red eyes, dry voice, heavily damaged, people, damaged clothes,” the soldier said.

He helped to hoist them out of the window to safety as the fire still raged above.

“When I heard some heavy cracking, I took [the man], put half of his body alone to the window. My commanding officer took him and I took five or six steps backward, sprinted to the window and got outside safely. Almost fell on my face. But that’s okay…Twenty seconds, 30 seconds, maybe 40, the building started collapsing inside.”

‘I didn’t feel any pain’ – at first

In total, his unit managed to save seven civilians.

They were then instructed to search houses to hunt for Hamas fighters who might be hiding. That was when Soldier D was shot. A number of his colleagues were also shot and his commander was killed.

“I got three bullet holes – two in my left leg, in my calves. The third shot was on my right leg,” Soldier D said.

“I didn’t feel any pain [immediately]. I felt that my legs were really wet and I felt like my body weight and my plate armour and everything I had on was pushing me downwards.”

He somehow managed to run to colleagues further back, giving them his tourniquets and asking for help. He said he spoke very calmy as he did not want to cause alarm.

“They didn’t see me yelling or even panicking. And I started singing and even laughing at it. It’s just to keep the morale up.”

Once in the privacy of an ambulance he allowed his composure to slip – briefly.

“We started driving and that’s when I started yelling, touching everything, and that’s when the pain really kicked in. When the damage started talking.”

A fortnight later, though, Soldier D is smiling once more.

He said he is determined to make a full recovery, drawing on a homemade motto: “Hard work beats talent when talent does not work hard.”

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Pope in critical condition after respiratory crisis, Vatican says in latest update

Published

1 hour ago

February 22, 2025

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Pope in critical condition after respiratory crisis, Vatican says in latest update

Pope Francis is in a critical condition after a “prolonged respiratory crisis” that required a high-flow of oxygen and is “suffering more than yesterday”, the Vatican has said.

The 88-year-old has been in hospital for more than a week being treated for double pneumonia and chronic bronchitis.

In an update on Saturday evening, the Vatican said “the Holy Father’s condition continues to be critical”, adding that this morning he “presented with a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis” which required the application of high-flow oxygen.

He also had blood transfusions after tests revealed thrombocytopenia, which is associated with anemia.

“The Holy Father continues to be vigilant and spent the day in an armchair even though he was suffering more than yesterday. At the moment the prognosis is reserved,” the Vatican’s statement said.

In an update earlier on Saturday morning – the shortest since Francis was admitted to hospital on 14 February – the Vatican said he will not lead Sunday prayers for the second week running, adding: “The Pope rested well.”

Francis is likely to prepare a written homily for someone else to read at Sunday’s Angelus.

Millions of people around the world have been concerned about the Pope’s increasingly frail health – and his condition has given rise to speculation over a possible resignation, which the Vatican has not commented on.

Doctors on Friday said he was “not out of danger” and was expected to remain at Rome’s Gemelli hospital for at least another week.

Sergio Alfieri, the chief of the pontiff’s medical team, said: “Is he out of danger? No. But if the question is ‘is he in danger of death’, the answer is ‘no’.”

He said Francis was affected by seasonal flu before being taken to hospital and that, “due to his challenging duties”, he had suffered fatigue.

He is also fighting a multipronged infection of bacteria and viruses in the respiratory tract.

The doctors warned that while he did not have sepsis – where germs enter the bloodstream – there was always a risk the infection could spread in his body, and they said that was the biggest concern.

Sepsis is a complication of an infection that can lead to organ failure and death.

Pope Francis has a history of respiratory illness, having lost part of one of his lungs to pleurisy as a young man. He had an acute case of pneumonia in 2023.

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One dead and police officers seriously injured in ‘terror’ stabbing in Mulhouse

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1 hour ago

February 22, 2025

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One dead and police officers seriously injured in 'terror' stabbing in Mulhouse

One person has been killed and two police officers seriously injured in a knife attack in eastern France.

A man attacked people in Mulhouse, near the German border, at around 4pm on Saturday.

Prosecutors said a 37-year-old Algerian had been arrested and the person who died was a civilian who tried to intervene.

“Horror has just gripped our city,” mayor Michele Lutz said on Facebook.

The man shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest”) as he attacked the police officers, prosecutors added.

President Macron told BFMTV it was “beyond doubt” it was an “Islamist terrorist act”. He said the interior minister was heading to Mulhouse and would speak later.

The attacker is said to have been at a police station – where he was due to sign a document for his detention – but refused and ran into the market where he launched the attack.

One police officer was stabbed in the neck and another in the chest, according to French media. Three other police sustained very minor injuries.

The knifeman had reportedly been under house arrest and was on a terror watchlist.

The French attack comes a day after a stabbing by a 19-year-old Syrian refugee at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial.

A Spanish tourist was badly injured but is expected to survive.

The attacker is said to have wanted to kill Jewish people after being motivated by the conflict in the Middle East, according to prosecutors.

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Starmer tells Zelenskyy this is ‘significant moment’ for European security ahead of US visit

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1 hour ago

February 22, 2025

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Starmer tells Zelenskyy this is 'significant moment' for European security ahead of US visit

Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this is a “significant moment” for European security amid the continued fallout between the Ukrainian leader and Donald Trump.

In a phone call this morning, the prime minister reiterated the UK’s “ironclad support” for Ukraine and said he would discuss safeguarding Kyiv’s sovereignty with the US president.

Sir Keir also spoke with the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen this morning, in which they agreed that Europe must “step up” for the good of collective security on the continent.

Sir Keir will meet Mr Trump in the coming days for what will be a critical moment in the fragile relations between America and Europe after the US leader launched an extraordinary verbal attack on Mr Zelenskyy.

Mr Trump labelled the Ukrainian leader a “dictator” and said the prime minister and French President Emmanuel Macron, both of whom will visit the White House next week, “haven’t done anything” to end the war.

Since Russia‘s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK, France and other allies have been providing Kyiv with weapons and aid.

Mr Trump has also suggested that Ukraine “started” the war.

In a Downing Street readout of Sir Keir’s call with Mr Zelenskyy, a spokesperson said: “The prime minister began by reiterating the UK’s ironclad support for Ukraine and commitment to securing a just and enduring peace to bring an end to Russia’s illegal war.

“The leaders reflected on recent developments in the conflict, as the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion approaches, and agreed on the need to continue working together with allies to achieve peace through strength.

“They agreed that this was a significant moment for the future of Ukraine and European security at large.”

The spokesperson added: “The prime minister repeated that Ukraine must be at the heart of any negotiations to end the war and that safeguarding Ukraine’s sovereignty was essential to deter future aggression from Russia.”

Meanwhile, a Downing Street spokesperson said of Sir Keir and Ms von der Leyen’s call: “Ahead of the three-year anniversary of Russia’s barbaric illegal war, they discussed the need to secure a just and enduring peace in Ukraine, and agreed that Europe must step up for the good of collective European security.”

On Saturday afternoon, Sir Keir also spoke with Finland’s president Alexander Stubb and discussed “the need to secure enduring peace for Ukraine and bring an end to Russia’s illegal war”, a Downing Street readout said.

“The leaders agreed the need for Europe to step up support to achieve this, and the prime minister said the UK is ready to play a role in future security guarantees.”

The US president’s recent statements, which echo Russian president Vladimir Putin’s narrative, and plans to have direct negotiations with Moscow about the end of the war in Ukraine have left European allies and Ukrainian officials worried.

Mr Trump told US governors on Friday he “had very good talks with Putin” and “not such good talks with Ukraine”.

The US president also said a deal on minerals in Ukraine in exchange for weapons was close, but a source with knowledge of the negotiations told Sky News the Ukrainian president is not ready to sign and sees a “number of problematic issues” with the draft agreement.