IDF Rescues Palestinian Boy in Jordan Valley

The IDF rescued a Palestinian boy on Wednesday, answering an urgent call for help following a car accident.

The IDF emergency medical team, as reported on the IDF blog, responded to the appeal for aid after the boy had arrived with his mother at the team’s base in the Jordan Valley region. This event was not unique, as the Israeli team provides assistance to Palestinians in urgent need of medical attention on a daily basis.

“We all rushed to the scene, arriving at the entrance to the base to find a 10-year-old Palestinian boy,” Lieutenant Moran Gershoni, an IDF Medical Officer, said. “His head was cut open as a result of being struck by a car. We’re always on alert for an emergency, arriving together with ambulances and an emergency squad [of soldiers].

The boy was in dire condition, and the team immediately put him into a military ambulance.
A Druze soldier spoke to the boy in Arabic, “allowing the team to communicate effectively while providing the necessary treatment,” the blog reported.

“Inside of the vehicle, a paramedic and two medics began treating the boy,” Gershoni said.
The team also treated the boy’s mother, who suffered from shock after the accident.

“She came into our ambulance and we calmed her down,” he said.

“I helped the helicopter land, and a medical team emptied out of the vehicle,” Gershoni explained. “Combined forces from 669 and the medical team treated the boy in the ambulance. When the 669 forces determined that he was ready to be evacuated, we brought him into the helicopter.”

The forces transported him to Hadassah-Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem, “where a civilian medical team provided expert treatment after his condition stabilized,” the IDF said.

Such emergencies occur frequently. The IDF medical team said they are always prepared to treat anyone , including Palestinians, arriving at the base in need of urgent care.

“We have three checkpoints in the Jordan Valley, and at all three there are points where we work with Palestinians,” Gershoni stated, adding that all sorts of people arrive in various types of emergency situations.

“The entrance [of our checkpoint] is like a clinic” he said.

Author: United with Israel Staff
Date: Dec. 19, 2013