TEL AVIV, Israel (BP) – The ballistic missile had all but destroyed the residential building in Tel Aviv when an Israeli emergency services paramedic heard a baby’s cry.
A team of first responders had already searched and cleared the building, but the Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedic couldn’t rest until he saw with his own eyes that everyone had been evacuated, Uri Shacham, MDA deputy director and chief of staff, told Baptist Press.
“And when he looked at this building he suddenly heard the cry of a small baby; he was covered with dust and all kinds of things, but he wasn’t injured,” Shacham said. “And our paramedic said, ‘Oh Lord, where is this baby’s family?”
After 15 minutes of searching, the paramedic found the baby’s parents and two older siblings in the back of an ambulance.
“When they saw the baby in his hand, they didn’t say anything. But their eyes were full of tears. They just started crying and crying and crying,” Shacham said. “They were frightened that this baby had lost his life. And I think that the Lord has brought the Magen David Adom paramedic to this baby.”
For Shacham, the experience is one of many miracles he has witnessed as Iran and Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists of Lebanon fire upon Israel in an escalation of the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran.
In another instance, a paramedic helped a mother deliver her child in the back of an ambulance en route to the hospital and within two minutes, found himself sheltering the newborn from bombs with his body.
“After he delivered the baby, a siren was heard. And now he had to protect not only his team, but the mother of the baby, the person that was with him, and the baby itself,” Shacham said. “So he went out of the ambulance because we are not allowed to stay in a car while a siren is heard, because there is a danger that debris would hit the car. And he actually covered the baby with his hands lying down and just protecting the newborn baby.”
Such miracles reinforce his Jewish faith that he said has grown, encouraged by the witness of Christians including Samaritan’s Purse President and CEO Franklin Graham, who have come to Israel’s aid in war time.
“I’m here in the name of Jesus Christ. What can I do to help?” Shacham recalled Graham’s words. “If I would tell a Jewish friend, listen, I have become more Jewish or I became more close to Judaism because I met a Christian reverend, he would say, what are you talking about? But I think this is the story of our life here in the land of Israel, because I think at the end of the day, we have a common cause, a common belief that we all are living according to.”
Southern Baptists have also come to Israel’s aid during war time, including teams from Southern Baptist churches.
“I would ask the Christian community to keep supporting Magen David Adom,” he said. “Israelis are not aware of how much support we get from Christian communities. I have mentioned Franklin Graham and Samaritan’s Purse, but there are many more others. Your support, at the end of the day, enables Magen David Adom to be more ready, to be more prepared to respond, to bring those paramedics to those babies who are all alone in those destroyed buildings.”
At MDA, Christians, Jews, Muslims and those of other faiths work together for a common good, Shacham said.
The current war is more intense than Shacham can ever recall, marking the first time since the early 1990s the nation has suffered hits from ballistic missiles. Mostly, the nation had suffered rocket attacks.
“Israel hasn’t dealt with so many explosives coming from the skies,” he said. “But we had to make sure that our response is flawless, even if we have a thousand pounds of explosive coming in a missile. Dealing with four buildings, each one five or six stories high. Going into them, surveying them, making sure that no one is injured, or if they are injured, we are extracting them. This is a new experience. And this is much more frightening, personally, and this is much more challenging.”
MDA has activated its entire fleet of 2,000 ambulances, he said, compared to normal use of 300 to 400, and are utilizing 39,000 volunteers and staff.
Israeli officials have reported as many as 28 deaths and 3,000 injuries since early March, with Iran reporting 1,444 deaths and more than 18,500 injuries.
Shacham said he relies heavily upon God, reading Scripture and praying daily. While he is Jewish, he references the story of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10:25-27 in describing the work of MDA paramedics.
“I’m thanking the Lord that that He gave Magen David Adom’s team the power and the strength to be able to respond to these people. Because let me tell you this,” he said, “It is not taken for granted.”
He also asked Christians to pray for Israel, that God would grant MDA’s team the power and strength to continue its sacred mission of saving lives.
“We are bringing hope and we are bringing compassion,” he said of MDA, “and we are, in a way, the Good Samaritan.”
Three hours before Shacham spoke with Baptist Press early March 17, Israel suffered the blasts of three ballistic missiles.
“And the fact that Magen David Adom was able to swiftly respond, to arrive to each scene, to be there for anybody who is in need,” he said. “This is something that for me is led by the hand of God. And I think that this is my personal obligation towards Him to say thank you.
“And so I believe that tonight, before I’ll go to bed, I’ll open up the Bible. And I would thank the Lord for guiding us once again today, allowing us to do what we were tasked with.”
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