In a moving ceremony held this week (Sunday) at MDA’s headquarters in Ramla, a mobile intensive care unit MICU and five new ambulances dedicated to the memory of MDA volunteers who fell during the “Iron Swords” war were inaugurated. An anonymous donor made the generous donation with the assistance of Israeli Friends Association of MDA. Each ambulance and MICU has the name of a fallen volunteer inscribed on it to commemorate their memory and continue the life-saving legacy they lived by. The ceremony, led by MDA volunteer Miri Bohadana, was attended by the bereaved families. These six ambulances join 29 ambulances donated in recent months, each commemorating one of the 29 MDA employees and volunteers who fell, totaling 35 ambulances dedicated to the memory of 35 MDA staff and volunteers who have fallen from October 7th until today. Here are the names of the MDA volunteers who fell and in whose memory the new ambulances or intensive care units were dedicated:   IDF soldier and MDA volunteer, Sergeant Major (Res.) Omer Smadga, 25, from Ganot Hadar, who fell in combat in the Netzarim corridor in the central Gaza Strip on June 20, 2024. Omer began his journey with MDA as a youth volunteer at the Netanya MDA station in 2015 and saved many lives during his shifts in ambulances. He also contributed significantly to COVID-19 testing activities and assisted Covid-positive patients during the pandemic that began in Israel in 2020.   MDA volunteer Michel Nisenbaum, 59, volunteered with MDA since 2015 in the Tzochar – Ofakim region. On the morning of October 7, he left his home to rescue his 4-year-old granddaughter who was at the Re’im base with her father, a career officer in the Gaza Division. After a few minutes, contact with Michel was lost. His family later saw a video released by Hamas showing his driver’s license, MDA volunteer ID, and other documents. Michel was initially listed as missing and later reported to have been abducted to Gaza. His body was recovered by IDF forces from Gaza.   IDF soldier and MDA trainee-volunteer, Staff Sergeant (Res.) Moti Rave, 37, fell in combat in Rafah on July 25, 2024, during an operational activity in the sector. The day after his death, before news of his death was released for publication, a ceremony was held for the completion of Stage 1 of MDA’s paramedic course, during which Moti was supposed to receive his certificate. During the ceremony, MDA received a request to send an ambulance to deliver the sad news to his family. MDA staff were dispatched immediately, and only later did his course mates and MDA teams in the South Hebron Hills realize they were going to his home and that Moti had fallen in battle. At the ambulance dedication ceremony, Moti’s family received his EMT course completion certificate.   MDA volunteer Lior Rudaeff, 61, from Nir Yitzhak, began his journey with MDA over 20 years ago. He fell on October 7 and his body was abducted to Gaza. Lior operated an MDA ambulance and provided medical services to residents of the kibbutz and surrounding communities. He was also a safety and traffic officer and a very prominent figure in the community. Over the years, he saved many lives, including treating casualties under fire on the day of […]  | Read More The Yeshiva World