As air raid sirens continue to echo across Israel more than a week into Operation Roaring Lion, the country has grown accustomed to scenes of resilience under pressure. Families rushing to their shelters. Volunteers racing toward danger. Emergency teams are scanning impact zones, searching and treating any wounded.
Yet amid the destruction and uncertainty, another remarkable story is quietly coming to life across the country. In the midst of missile alerts and sleepless nights, babies are being born in the most unlikely of places. Inside United Hatzalah ambulances.
Hatzalah assists in emergency births
Over the past day alone, United Hatzalah first responders have assisted in several emergency births after expectant mothers went into labor while sirens sounded across Israel.
First came a call during the wee morning hours from an expectant mother in Kiryat Gat. While locals repeatedly sought shelter as alarms pierced the quiet night sky, two members of United Hatzalah’s Adele and Joel Sandberg Women’s Unit, Hila and Yael, were dispatched to the scene of a woman in advanced labor. There was no time to reach the hospital. So inside United Hatzalah Ambulance 86, the two medics quickly prepared the space, transforming the emergency vehicle into a makeshift delivery room. Moments after the sirens subsided, another sound filled the space. This time, it was the sound of a baby’s first cries entering the world.
Only hours later, that same ambulance and its dedicated crew were dispatched once again to another childbirth emergency. With missile alerts continuing across large parts of the country, the medics once again delivered a baby before the mother could reach the hospital.
Meanwhile, in Beit Shemesh, a similar scene unfolded. United Hatzalah volunteer Karen Foster responded to a labor call that progressed rapidly. With little time to spare, she safely delivered a baby inside Ambulance 61.
Behind each of these moments stand United Hatzalah’s volunteers, men and women who leave their homes at any hour to answer the call for help. Many describe these deliveries as some of the most emotional calls they respond to. Amid fear and uncertainty, they are privileged to witness the most hopeful moment imaginable.
United Hatzalah is proud to assist in the birth of new life, even in the shadow of sirens and war.
The writer is the international spokesperson for United Hatzalah.