There Are No Words
ROTEM, FASA, AND EDEN
Since the attacks of October 7 and the beginning of
Swords of Iron, more than 7,000 wounded veterans
have joined Beit Halochem in Israel, a number
projected to rise to 20,000 by the end of 2024.
Rotem Inbar, a 22-year-old in the Nahal Infantry Brigade, served at the Sufa Outpost near Rafah. On October 7, it was half-staffed due to the holiday.
Early that morning, a terrifying barrage of rockets hit the base. Its personnel were unaware that they were surrounded until terrorists broke through the gate, attacking from all directions. Many were injured in this initial assault.
As Rotem fought to protect the wounded, a terrorist threw a grenade from two metres away. It hit the floor and exploded next to him, shredding his leg. Rotem lay in excruciating pain until a helicopter carrying Shayetet 13 fighters broke in, fought for several hours to take back control of the base, and evacuated the wounded.
At the hospital, surgeons determined Rotem’s right leg was too damaged to save and would be amputated. Similarly-injured Beit Halochem members visited Rotem in hospital. They assured him that, with Beit Halochem’s support, his life, while different, was not over.
Rotem is now a member of Beit Halochem Tel Aviv. Fitted with a prosthetic leg, hydrotherapy sessions provide much relief as he adjusts to his new limb. Rotem excercises in the fitness hall, plays wheelchair basketball, and looks forward to participating in Young Veterans Club programs for members ages 18-35.
Ethiopian-born Fasa Awitzo arrived in Israel as a young child. The 36-year-old police officer had returned to his Ofakim home early on October 7 following his security shift at the Nova Festival.
When the sirens started, he helped his young family into the safe room and ran to do his duty. He had only driven a short distance when he came upon a terrorist firing into a house. A shootout occurred and the terrorist was killed. Fasa realized he had been hit by bullets and shrapnel in both legs.
He couldn’t move. Out of ammunition, exposed in the middle of the road, a battle raged around him. Unable to fight, Fasa called for reinforcements, and directed fighters to the area.
Evacuated to a hospital in the back of a car, Fasa underwent multiple surgeries over several months. Some shrapnel remains lodged in his legs.
Fasa has begun his rehabilitation at Beit Halochem Be’er Sheva and is already benefiting from physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, and working out. His children often join him in the swimming pool. He says,
Beit Halochem really is a home for me and my family.
At the Centre, Fasa spends time with others others who share similar experiences – whether on October 7, during Swords of Iron, or in earlier conflicts. He participates in PTSD support groups. As he says,
People know when you are having a hard day. There are no words to describe how healing it is to be with others who understand.
Seven months after being shot, Fasa’s wife gave birth to their third child. “This baby is our victory.”
Eden Ram was a 20-year-old officer serving in the Home Front Command and stationed at the Urim base. On October 7, Hamas terrorists raided her base killing four young soldiers with their initial hail of gunfire.
As Eden raced to the command centre, dodging bullets, she was hit in her leg, hand, and pelvis.The centre quickly turned into a bloody battlefield. Eden played dead as she lay wounded and losing blood among her friends’ bodies. Eden didn’t expect to live and sent farewell messages to her family, writing that she loved them and asking them to pray for her.
Hours after the attack began, Eden was rescued by Battalion 669 who fought to overcome the terrorists. Eden was evacuated with the base’s one other survivor. Pierced by 12 bullets, she arrived at the hospital in critical condition.
Eden was on life support for nine days as medical teams worked around the clock to save her. Her three months in hospital, during which time she was visited regularly by Beit Halochem volunteers, was followed by two months in a wheelchair.
Eden now goes to Beit Halochem Jerusalem every day where she works hard with physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Today, despite one bullet still lodged in her hip, Eden is recovering, little by little, as she takes step after step!