Oshrit Haddad, a 23-year-old MAGEN DAVID ADOM paramedic from the Ashdod station and a resident of Netivot, set out on the morning of October 7, 2023 to treat the wounded.

Together with MAGEN DAVID ADOM teams, she established a field hospital at Shuva Junction, where they treated dozens of casualties for hours — all under life-threatening conditions. “There was a soldier who was critically wounded; he grabbed my hand and asked me to say Shema Yisrael with him,” Oshrit recalls.

On Israel’s 76th Independence Day, Oshrit represented MAGEN DAVID ADOM’s 37,500 volunteers and staff and lit the torch on behalf of the emergency services. Now, she has been selected to receive the “President’s Award for Civilian Bravery.”

Gilad Honwald, a MAGEN DAVID ADOM senior EMT, will also receive the “President’s Award for Civilian Bravery.”

On October 7, while evacuating the injured from Kibbutz Alumim where he lives, he also fought terrorists. Around 6:30 a.m. that day, alarms were heard on the kibbutz. Gilad left his home with his son to search for casualties. Soon after, they heard gunfire from the direction of Nahal Oz and began receiving reports of terrorists in the kibbutz.

Without hesitation, Gilad and other members of the security response team ran toward the terrorists to defend the community — a battle that lasted over four hours. Later, Gilad returned to treat the wounded and encountered four more Hamas terrorists who charged toward him. After narrowly escaping, Gilad received reports that members of the security team had been wounded and needed urgent medical care.

With courage and resourcefulness, Gilad picked up a weapon and while under live fire, began evacuating the wounded while continuing to engage the terrorists. “I evacuated ten people. It was clear to all of us that we were fighting for our home.”