Inside Israel's frontline rescue crew… from pulling families out of rubble to dodging Iranian missiles

The Sun

7 hours ago

IT'S the dead of night when Captain Yehudit's phone suddenly starts ringing.
On her way home from the day job, the reservist's battalion commander warns her Iranian missiles are incoming.
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Defended by arguably one of the most technologically magnificent missile shields in the world, incoming rockets are largely shot down by quick-thinking soldiers.
But no system can ever be perfect - and a very small percentage of barrages crash, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
Within hours, the mum found herself pulling bodies out of the wreckage after Iranian missiles blitzed civilian homes in Be'er Sheva.
She was joined at the devastating scene by Major Neta and rescue forces of Battalion 923 - part of the Home Front Command's Southern District - who worked tirelessly for the next 13 hours to help panicked citizens.
It was the first of three blitzes on the southern Israel city during the so-called 12-day war, including one just hours before the ceasefire kicked in.
Furious Iran traded blows with Israel for days after Benjamin Netanyahu unleashed an audacious blitz on the regime's prized nuclear sites.
Homes and even a hospital were blasted in Be'er Sheva in return by Iran - leaving at least four killed and dozens injured.
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reservist Maj. Neta told The Sun: "We didn't suspect [Iran would hit civilian areas], that was a surprise for us.
"We only hit military targets and they hit a civilian hospital - it was awful.
"We are here to save lives, and they are just trying to hurt us."
West now on red alert for 'homegrown terror attacks' as Iran calls for Trump to be 'crucified'
In the early hours of July 19, Soroka hospital was among eight sites pounded by missiles in what was branded an "act of terrorism" by Israel's health minister Uriel Buso.
Terrified patients were evacuated as ceilings collapsed, windows smashed and walls caved in.
Maj. Neta said: "There was a lot of mess, a lot of innocent people that we needed to move because it was dangerous. We had a fire there and a lot of wreckage.
"Luckily nobody was killed there, but easily could have been.
"There were people we had to pull out the wreckage, but I'm happy it ended up with only the building damaged but no souls lost.
Shocking footage showed the ground shale and huge plumes of smoke filled the air as the busy hospital was struck.
"There was a lot of mess, a lot of innocent people that we needed to move because it was dangerous," Maj. Neta said.
"We had a fire there and a lot of wreckage.
"Luckily nobody was killed there, but easily could have been.
"There were people we had to pull out of the wreckage, but I'm happy it ended up with only the building damaged with no souls lost."
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But when a salvo of missiles slammed into more civilian targets days later - just hours before the ceasefire came into force on July 24.
Corporal Eitan Zachs, 18, his mother, Michal Zachs, 50, his girlfriend Noa Boguslavsky, 18, from Arad, and Naomi Shaanan were killed.
At least 22 others were injured as the rockets hit the area at around 6am - including one that directly pummeled a residential building.
Cpt. Yehudit said: "Those first moments are a really big mess. People are in shock, there are many rescue teams in the zone.
"We had to take the bodies of killed civilians from the apartments that got hit.
"We had to break the bricks and the doors down to get them out. We also had a lot of civilians who got hurt.
"[After dealing with casualties] we then check every building four times to make sure there is nobody in there, even pets.
"From one building we rescued four cats, and returned them to their owners.
Iran exacts revenge on its own people
by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital)
IRAN'S ruthless regime massacred defenceless inmates at a prison before blaming their deaths on shrapnel from airstrikes, insiders revealed.
It comes as sources warn the wounded regime is using the smokescreen of conflict to unleash a brutal execution spree and crack down on critics.
Cold-blooded regime dictators have also ordered the arrest of hundreds after accusing them of having links to arch-foe Israel.
Iran 's intelligence services detained at least 26 people accusing them of collaborating with the enemy - and three prisoners were hanged for allegedly spying for Israel.
Iranian insiders told The Sun supreme leader Ali Khamenei is following a "disturbing pattern" of enforcing bloody clampdowns during periods of unrest.
It comes as the chorus of voices calling for the Ayatollah's callous regime to be toppled grows louder following a monumental effort from Israel and the US to blitz critical nuclear sites.
An Iranian insider said: "The prison massacre now stands as another stain on Tehran's human rights record - and a sobering reminder of what unchecked tyranny can unleash behind closed walls."
"It's hard work. It takes a lot of time. In my zone, we took nearly 13 hours to make sure nobody was there until we could leave the scene."
Maj. Neta said their response after a missile strike can take hours - and squads will even do checks on apartments for casualties even if just a window is broken.
She added: "There was a lot of panic and confusion but they [civilians] were happy to see us.
"It is a relief for them to see soldiers coming to rescue them and help them.
"After that there's a lot of rage, because they need a lot of stuff from their house, and the building is not safe.
"We have engineers that check the buildings before we allow civilians inside."
Both Maj. Neta and Capt. Yehudit agreed they have to detach from their emotions to get their jobs done effectively.
Capt Yehudit said: "The last hit that we dealt with was just before the ceasefire.
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"So at the end of the day, everybody spoke about how it was the ceasefire and we could go home in a couple of days.
"It wasn't less hard dealing with the scene, knowing that just a few hours ago I pulled bodies from this wreckage...and now I'm going home, back to my day job, to my family and my daughter."
Maj. Neta added: "We have to detach when we are getting to a scene because we cannot do our job if we are not detached.
"But then after we speak to one another and we take everything out.
"It's very important to speak about it and not keep it inside."
Israel and Iran have been locked in a fragile ceasefire since June 24 - which Donald Trump has warned both sides not to break.
It comes after days of missile fire between the two nations before Trump pulled the trigger on a monumental US blitz of the rogue state.
Israel's rescue teams fear Iran could launch further strikes - but insist they are prepared.
Maj. Neta added: "We don't know if Iran will strike again. [If they do], we will come and do our job, as we did this time.
"But I hope very, very much they will not do it because we are only innocent people.
"It's very difficult for us to lose a life. They don't care about that."
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