“It’s in Our DNA”: MDA Paramedic Whose Home Was Damaged by Missile Rushes to Help Victim

For about half of his life, paramedic Elad Salama, 30, has worn the MDA uniform. Like many of MDA’s men and women, he also began his path in the organization as a youth volunteer. Today, Elad serves as a shift officer at MDA’s National Dispatch Center. Although in recent years he has been used to managing complex scenes from the MDA dispatch center, in front of screens and advanced technology, Elad did not hesitate when a missile struck near his home in Beit Shemesh. Despite damage to his own home, he immediately went out to the impact site to assist the injured. “It’s in our DNA,” he says.
Elad had been deeply asleep after a long and busy night shift at MDA’s emergency dispatch center. When the alert sounded, he entered the shelter with his family. A short time later he heard a loud explosion.
“From the noise we heard, it was clear that our house had also been hit. When we went outside we saw the damage, cracks in the walls, shattered windows, broken shutters, and even two exterior doors that had simply blown off,” he recalled. “At first there was a report of a direct hit on my street. I went there immediately and reported to dispatch that everything seemed okay. It was probably people like me, whose homes were damaged.
For about half of his life, paramedic Elad Salama, 30, has worn the MDA uniform. Like many of MDA’s men and women, he also began his path in the organization as a youth volunteer. Today, Elad serves as a shift officer at MDA’s National Dispatch Center. Although in recent years he has been used to managing complex scenes from the MDA dispatch center, in front of screens and advanced technology, Elad did not hesitate when a missile struck near his home in Beit Shemesh. Despite damage to his own home, he immediately went out to the impact site to assist the injured. “It’s in our DNA,” he says.
Elad had been deeply asleep after a long and busy night shift at MDA’s emergency dispatch center. When the alert sounded, he entered the shelter with his family. A short time later he heard a loud explosion.
“From the noise we heard, it was clear that our house had also been hit. When we went outside we saw the damage, cracks in the walls, shattered windows, broken shutters, and even two exterior doors that had simply blown off,” he recalled. “At first there was a report of a direct hit on my street. I went there immediately and reported to dispatch that everything seemed okay. It was probably people like me, whose homes were damaged by the blast wave, who thought the impact had happened nearby. I looked up and saw a cloud of black smoke and realized something unusual had happened, and that’s how I reached the impact site.
” Experienced in managing mass-casualty incidents from the dispatch center perspective, Elad remembered to park far away from the scene so he would not block evacuation routes for ambulances.

“We took the equipment and ran,” he recalled. “We saw Home Front Command teams that were not local and had lost their way, and we told them to come with us. The first white ambulance had just arrived at the scene. When I reached the site itself, I saw a lot of destruction, surrounded by smoke, with an active fire, it was a very difficult sight. I opened a live line with the dispatch center and reported what I was seeing, including that it was a municipal shelter with people trapped inside, blocked by the fire and debris. We searched the first house we could access, and it was empty.”
“At the same time, we began seeing our volunteers and additional teams pulling people out of the rubble, checking them quickly and again and again realizing they had no signs of life, but they did not break. They continued fighting for life. Dozens of MDA teams were there, working professionally at a complex scene, establishing a casualty concentration point, providing treatment to the injured, and evacuating them to hospitals,” he said.
“Seeing so many victims is a difficult sight for anyone. Even for us in MDA, who have already seen many things. Personally, I think it made clear to me what we are fighting for, what we train for, practice for, and study for. Saving even one person is saving the entire world. There is no greater mission than that one,” Elad concluded.
by the blast wave, who thought the impact had happened nearby. I looked up and saw a cloud of black smoke and realized something unusual had happened, and that’s how I reached the impact site.
” Experienced in managing mass-casualty incidents from the dispatch center perspective, Elad remembered to park far away from the scene so he would not block evacuation routes for ambulances.
“We took the equipment and ran,” he recalled. “We saw Home Front Command teams that were not local and had lost their way, and we told them to come with us. The first white ambulance had just arrived at the scene. When I reached the site itself, I saw a lot of destruction, surrounded by smoke, with an active fire, it was a very difficult sight. I opened a live line with the dispatch center and reported what I was seeing, including that it was a municipal shelter with people trapped inside, blocked by the fire and debris. We searched the first house we could access, and it was empty.”
“At the same time, we began seeing our volunteers and additional teams pulling people out of the rubble, checking them quickly and again and again realizing they had no signs of life, but they did not break. They continued fighting for life. Dozens of MDA teams were there, working professionally at a complex scene, establishing a casualty concentration point, providing treatment to the injured, and evacuating them to hospitals,” he said.
“Seeing so many victims is a difficult sight for anyone. Even for us in MDA, who have already seen many things. Personally, I think it made clear to me what we are fighting for, what we train for, practice for, and study for. Saving even one person is saving the entire world. There is no greater mission than that one,” Elad concluded.