NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Ari Yonatan, a 32-year-old paramedic originally from New York City, shared his experience during the attack. On October 7, he and his colleagues were called to respond to a devastating terror attack by Hamas in Israel.
The attack resulted in the loss of over 1,400 lives.
Yonatan described the scene as resembling a "horror movie," and it left a lasting impact on him, leading to the need for treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“When I arrived at the hospital with my wounded, it truly felt like a horror movie,” he told the New York Post. “Everyone was screaming, it was chaos, and everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. I was just standing there, numb.”
“If you were there, your mind, your soul would be harmed by the images,” he added. “I know mine suffered.”
Waking up to rocket fire
The day began with Yonatan waking up to the sound of rocket fire coming from the Gaza Strip. Although he was accustomed to such sounds, the increasing frequency and the sight of nearby towns covered in smoke indicated that something was wrong.
He promptly volunteered to assist, as his dispatcher informed him of the situation with numerous casualties. “My dispatcher said there were dead and injured everywhere, that we had 300 calls coming in, and that they needed everyone to come to the station,” he said.
Driving to the Kibbutz of Ofakim, he received a warning that the area was under fire from Hamas invaders, which likely saved his life. Instead, Yonatan headed north to Netivot, where he loaded civilians, police, and Israeli soldiers suffering from gunshot wounds.
“Hamas had massacred hundreds, burning people alive, cutting off their heads, raping women, and taking hostages,” he said. “The whole day involved seeing this terrible, terrible carnage.”
“I would go to the scenes of gunfire, go to the hospitals, and then go back,” he added. “This was just cruelty.”
Loss of friends and heartbreaking survivor account
Yonatan discovered that many of his friends, including three of his colleagues, had lost their lives in the attack.
He rescued a survivor from the Nova music festival in the desert. The survivor recounted the murder of a pregnant Arab woman who begged for her life in Arabic but was shot in the stomach by the attackers.
“She spoke to them in Arabic to plead for her life, and they told her that she was a traitor who was with Israel. Then they shot her in the stomach and killed her,” he recalled.
“These are people who have lost all sense of humanity,” Yonatan continued. “What happened on Oct 7 was a terror to the degree that our community hasn’t experienced since the Holocaust. What we’re fighting today is a mix of Nazis and ISIS terrorists,” he added. “That’s the horror of the opponent we face.”
“We have to wipe them out,” he told the Post of Hamas. “It is something that 100% has to be done. There is no room in this world for Hamas to exist.”
