Strength in the Line of Fire: A MDA Medic’s Experiences on Oct. 7
Driving down the main road of Sderot, you would never know that this serene neighborhood was host to a gruesome battle just nine months ago.
“I didn’t think about fear that day. Fear is something that is important, it protects you from running towards the fire and burning yourself,” Elor Tawill told Israel365 News. “But there are times that you let your fear manage you and there are times that you need to manage your fear.”
Tawill, a father of five who has lived in Sderot ever since he attended Yeshiva in the city, jumped to protect his home when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7. He has been a volunteer for Magen David Adom (MDA) for nine years as an ambulance driver.
On that fateful morning, when Hamas began launching rockets at Israel, Tawill told his wife and kids to stay in the safe room in their house while he went to the MDA station to get his ambulance to help. As soon as he arrived at the station, he heard gunshots and explosives just 20 meters away. He immediately called his wife and told her that Israel was under attack. “After that call, I closed the window in my head that thinks about family,” he said. “I closed down the window that thinks about fear, and did whatever I could to help and treat [people].”
After that call, Tawill sprung into action, tending to the injured and evacuating people from the Sderot police station, which had been besieged by Hamas terrorists. He doesn’t view his actions from that day as heroic. He simply acted because it was what he had to do. He jumped into the line of fire to protect his family, his home, and his nation.
“Everyone from Am Yisrael tried to do everything they could without orders or requests,” he said. “The people who are strong mentally or believe that their life is not worth more than another’s, they just run towards the fire and try to do whatever they can.”
While trying to save people on the street, three missiles were shot directly towards Tawill’s location, killing soldier Adi Baruch, and narrowly missing him and his ambulance. He dove into the “armored station,” or bomb shelter, next to the bus stop. These armored stations and bomb shelters can be found all over the city of Sderot due to the amount of rocket attacks it receives on a regular basis.
A total of 70 Hamas terrorists infiltrated Sderot on Oct. 7 through its three entrances, many carrying maps with details about the city. Most came in through the main entrance towards the center of town and the police station, where a major battle ensued.
The other terrorists infiltrated through the northwestern entrance of Sderot where multiple synagogues are located, but only one was open that early. There were 20 people inside that synagogue, but two Israeli men with rifles managed to hold off the terrorists. The terrorists shot grenades toward the synagogue but they didn’t explode. Tawill attributes that to a miracle.
Ten more terrorists invaded Sderot through the industrial district on the west side, driving in on a pickup truck. They were headed towards Ibim, a community of South Africans and Ethiopians who made Aliyah and live on the northeastern side of Sderot. However, according to Tawill, the terrorists got distracted by a civilian car that drove by them and turned around, avoiding what likely would have been a massacre in Ibim. “If they continued over there another 200 meters, we would have had 200 more bodies to collect that day,” he said.
Terrorists killed any civilian they saw with RPG’s and gunfire. As Tawill tried to drive his ambulance to save people, he had to drive on the sidewalk to avoid the bodies that filled the street.
In another incident, Tawill describes a group of seniors, some of whom were Holocaust survivors, who were on their way to a trip to the Dead Sea and were massacred. Their minibus had a flat tire and they were waiting on the side of the road when rockets started falling. They tried getting into a roadside shelter, but it was locked. They laid on the ground thinking this was just another rocket attack from Gaza but didn’t realize terrorists had infiltrated Sderot. They were all killed at point blank range.
“I passed by the minibus on its jack because the driver was in the middle of fixing the tire, and there was a pile of bodies around it,” he said. Every passenger on the bus was killed except for the driver, who hid under a dead body.
During the first twelve hours of the attack, the people of Sderot believed the attack was just on their city. Since it was the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah as well as Shabbat, most people were not on their electronics when the attack started, and therefore, they had no idea that the other Kibbutzim in the south and the Nova festival were also attacked.
Zaka, another prominent emergency response volunteer organization in Israel, was overwhelmed. “We had to do something that was just a drop of water in a big sea,” Tawill said to describe the overwhelming amount of help needed to aid these places that day.
The municipality of Sderot only allowed citizens to leave their homes on Monday, two days after the initial onslaught. “Some of the people were stuck in their homes, or they were locked in their shelters inside their homes for 24 hours, 48 hours,” Tawill said. “In my offices at work and at the station, we started buying groceries and medicines and supplies to give to people, because you can’t rely only on what you have in your home for so many hours.”
Tawill is evidently a man of action with a strong desire to help others. Before Oct. 7. Tawill worked as a maintenance and partnership manager at Amutat Reot, a rehabilitation organization that assists people who have gone through psychologically traumatic experiences.
He works to build partnerships with other associations, one specifically to help at-risk youth in Sderot, as well as another that provides jobs and activities for the elderly. “I like to call them projects to do good for those who are less fortunate,” he said. “I didn’t want a full time job because I knew I wanted to volunteer, to study Torah, and I want to be here for my kids.”
Tawill now works to educate others on the events that occurred in Sderot on Oct. 7. “I give tours in Sderot, and tell about the things that happened here,” he said. “Because I had the privilege to do what I did on that day, I tell the story of Sderot.”
Tawill believes Sderot was able to survive after such a horrible attack because they have withstood danger and built up their resilience in the face of rocketfire from Gaza way before Oct. 7. “The city is [already] alive again,” he said.
He compares the people of Sderot to lions, who continue to protect the Jewish nation and the land of Israel with courage and strength. “In this week’s parsha (Torah portion), Bilam, the sorcerer of the other nations, said ‘a nation like a lion will rise.’” He continued, “That’s something that I saw with my own eyes on that day. You saw all the dead and all the injured, but you also saw random people run towards the fire and try to help as much as they can.”
The people of Sderot need your support now more than ever. The financial and emotional burdens faced by families are immense. Your donations can help cover essential expenses, provide much-needed psychological support, and restore a sense of security to these resilient individuals.
By standing with Sderot, you can make a significant difference in the lives of those affected by this tragedy, helping them to rebuild their homes and heal their hearts. Join us in supporting the community of Sderot as they navigate the aftermath of this devastating attack and work towards a brighter, safer future. Donate and show your solidarity with Sderot today.
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