Article by Renee Ghert-Zand, The Times of Israel
Itai, a soldier with the IDF Nahal Brigade’s special forces, knows he arrived at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem by helicopter on October 7, but he doesn’t remember the ride.
“They gave me pain medication, so it must have knocked me out,” Itai, whose last name was withheld by the military, said as he recounted his battle with Hamas terrorists on the morning of the group’s massive assault on southern Israel.
He spoke on October 19, describing his ordeal to members of a delegation of American Jewish leaders on a solidarity visit. Itai’s parents Limor and Aaron had rolled him in a wheelchair from his room to the hospital’s synagogue, where he met with the delegates from the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations.
The Times of Israel sat in and listened as the soldier told the group how he and the eight other soldiers in his squad fought terrorists for three and a half hours, without backup or clear direction from superiors.
Seven of the nine soldiers were either shot or wounded by shrapnel; all survived. A bullet hit 20-year-old Itai’s lower leg, shattering it. He has undergone surgeries to reconstruct his tibia bone, repair nerve damage, and cover his large wound with a skin graft.
Based at Sufa, near the southern end of the border with Gaza, Itai’s infantry unit is in charge of guarding and patrolling the border fence and responding to any unusual activity.
“That morning at 6:30 a.m. the guys in my squad were at the entrance to the base next to our armored vehicle. It was a normal morning. We were just talking and checking our phones. Then we heard loud booms. It sounded like mortar attacks really close by,” Itai said.
“We yelled, ‘Purple rain!’ which is an army term for incoming bombs or missiles. We all ran and got into our armored vehicle,” he said.
Everyone got into their positions, with Itai as the driver. Orders from above directed them to move toward nearby Kibbutz Holit. As Itai drove the armored personnel carrier down a road away from the base, he suddenly saw before him a figure in black carrying an RPG rocket launcher. Itai threw the vehicle into reverse, but it was hit.
“The vehicle spun sideways. The engine was hit and things didn’t work. I pressed the gas and it didn’t work. We realized there was a terrorist in our area and we had to figure out our next steps. In the meantime, we got hit by another RPG,” Itai recounted.
The soldiers decided it wasn’t safe to stay in the vehicle and that they should run for cover. The back door was opened and they all jumped out. Itai was second to last, and he fell as he landed.
“The second I tried to run for cover, I got shot in the leg. My leg felt numb, but I had no time to think. I just limped all the way and made it to cover behind our vehicle. We all got there and I told the guys I had been shot in the leg,” Itai said.
“One of my team members came over to put a tourniquet on me, but when he tried to he couldn’t because he didn’t have strength in his arm,” he said. “It turned out he was shot in the shoulder. Another guy was in shell shock.”
The troops gave the soldier with the shoulder wound combat gauze to stop his bleeding. They also followed procedures they had learned to try to bring the shocked soldier back to a functioning state. The tourniquet applied on Itai’s leg wasn’t working very well and blood was still flowing out, but his adrenaline kept him going.