Magen David Adom teams on the front lines

RISHON LEZION, Israel — Sirens send people running for shelter. For Magen David Adom crews, they signal something else: it’s time to get on the road.

At an MDA station in Rishon LeZion, paramedic Yedidya Meir, senior EMT Gad Yair Mimran and EMT Keren Mesika have been living on-site since late February, responding to missile strikes across central Israel as part of the Home Front Command.

As the war with Iran continues, emergency teams like theirs are often among the first to arrive at impact sites, treating the wounded, searching for victims and helping residents in shock.

Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service, operates with 36,000 volunteers, 3,000 employees, nearly 2,000 ambulances and 650 motorcycles. In the Ayalon region — which includes Rishon LeZion, Holon and surrounding cities — crews have responded to repeated missile alerts and impacts in recent weeks.

While this is Meir’s first rotation at the station as a paramedic, both Mimran and Mesika served during a previous round of fighting in June 2025.

Mimran recalled responding to a strike in Rehovot during that conflict.

“Our shelter started trembling,” he said. “We went out to the site. It was chaos. We started evacuating the wounded. As more alarms were heard, we would seek shelter, then return and continue the evacuations.”

When sirens sound, calls quickly flood in. Crews deploy immediately, often heading toward areas where explosions or falling debris have been reported. Nearly every alert results in a dispatch.

Most injuries, Mimran said, are caused by blast impact. In severe cases, that can include traumatic wounds requiring rapid evacuation to hospitals.

Other calls involve fires sparked by falling debris or smaller munitions, as well as people injured while rushing to shelter.

A significant portion of MDA’s work involves treating anxiety.

“The point is to give that person back a sense of control over what happens around them,” Meir said. “When someone is overtaken by anxiety, they feel helpless, unable to cope with the situation.”

“We introduce ourselves, explain that they are being evacuated, and ask whether they want to take anything from their home or notify someone,” he added. “Restoring that sense of control helps them emerge from the situation with strength.”

The team operates a mobile intensive care unit — a yellow ambulance equipped to treat severe injuries. It carries two beds, monitoring equipment and supplies for life-saving treatment.

Mesika treats patients in the back, Mimran drives and Meir provides care en route.

The work is relentless. Crews must be ready to respond day or night, often with little rest between calls.

Mesika, an army nurse who lives in Bat Yam, also responded to a strike there last year.

“About 25 buildings surrounding the one that was hit will have to be demolished because their infrastructure was compromised,” she said.

A Ukrainian family of five who had fled war in their home country was killed in that attack.

In civilian life, the three medics have careers outside emergency response. Meir is a civil engineer, Mimran a software developer and Mesika an economist in a high-tech company.

That expertise can prove critical in the field. Meir said his background helps him assess damaged buildings and determine potential risks.

“Every building is supported by pillars that anchor it to the ground,” he said. “If a pillar is damaged, an engineer must determine whether the structure can be rehabilitated or must be demolished and rebuilt.”

Across Israel, newer buildings are designed to withstand earthquakes and, in some cases, better absorb the shockwaves from missile blasts. Many include reinforced safe rooms, which officials say have saved lives during attacks.

At one site in Rishon LeZion, a missile fragment struck a residential building’s roof. A family inside remained shaken but uninjured.

At another stop, the team was redirected to transport a patient unrelated to the war — a reminder that routine medical needs continue even amid conflict.

At a nearby hospital, Sarit, 53, of Rishon LeZion, described the moment a fragment landed near her home.

“There was an alarm and we entered the safe room in my house. I was with my daughters — my eldest doesn’t live with us — and my brother joined us,” she said. “About 30 seconds later, we heard a huge explosion and realized it was very close.”

“We called the police and went outside to find our garden destroyed. The damage was caused by the blast,” she added.

Sarit was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

“Safe rooms save lives. Don’t take it lightly — enter protected spaces when there is an alarm,” she said. “It saves lives, and it saved ours.”

As the conflict continues with no clear end, MDA crews remain on constant alert — moving toward danger as others take cover, and working to stabilize lives in its aftermath.