Less than four months after 14 of Magen David Adom’s ambulances were destroyed in the October 7 terrorist attacks on southern Israel, replacement vehicles donated by Samaritan’s Purse, the American evangelical humanitarian-aid organization, were dedicated in a moving ceremony in the National Library’s courtyard in the Government Complex in Jerusalem.
The ambulances were dedicated on Tuesday in memory of Magen David Adom’s personnel who were murdered in the line of duty or killed in defense of the State. four of MDA’s medics were killed while actively treating patients or en route to the scene in an ambulance. Another 15 MDA medics have subsequently been killed in the war, mostly while serving in roles as medics for the Israel Defense Forces.
Honored guests at the ceremony included President of Samaritan’s Purse Mr. Franklin Graham, his daughter Mrs. Cissie Graham-Lynch, his deputy Mr. Ken Isaacs, and MDA Director General Eli Bin. Also present were Director of the Foreign Ministry Yaakov Blitshtein, MK and Deputy Knesset Chair Moshe Solomon, and MKs Erez Malul and Tatiana Mazarsky, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon, Netivot Deputy Mayor Yaakov Maalimi, Head of Shlomi Regional Authority Gavriel Naaman, Head of Eshkol Regional Authority Gad Yarkoni, heads of the MDA Friends’ Societies in Israel, America and the Christian Friends, and the organization’s management team along with staff and volunteers.
The new ambulances were donated by Samaritan’s Purse an organization dedicated to assisting humanitarian organizations, along with a further 7 ambulances donated by them, including bullet-proof ambulances, that will be dedicated at a later date in memory of five additional volunteers who fell during the war.
Samaritan’s Purse, based in North Carolina, is an Evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization, that provides aid to people in crisis. The organization is active in over 100 countries, providing aid to victims of war, disease, disasters, poverty, starvation and persecution.
The organization has also povided new ambulance stations in Israeli communities that are frequently at risk as well as 1,000 advanced trauma life support kits to help the country’s emergency responders.
