Samaritan’s Purse President and CEO Franklin Graham encouraged the Israeli people that they are not alone

Just three 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 ready to save lives in Israel.

Magen David Adom’s (MDA), Israel’s national emergency medical system, dedicated the ambulances at a ceremony in January. The event also served to commemorate even more devastating losses the organization incurred during the terrorist attacks, when 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.

Parked at the ceremony site, each of the 14 ambulances was dedicated in memory of an MDA medic killed in action. One by one, the inscriptions on the ambulances were unveiled, as family and friends got the chance to see and touch their loved one’s memorial ambulance for the first time.

In addition to the 14 ambulances dedicated on Tuesday, January 23, Samaritan’s Purse also donated seven armored ambulances to MDA.

“I’ve had the opportunity to see for myself how the men and women of MDA are risking their lives for others when I visited several of the communities in Israel that were brutally attacked,” said Franklin Graham, Samaritan’s Purse President and CEO. “At Samaritan’s Purse, we need to have the necessary equipment to do our work around the world, and MDA has to have the right equipment to do its work to save lives here in Israel. This is why we want to give MDA this gift to save lives. It is an honor to dedicate these ambulances today, and I’m grateful for this opportunity to help MDA continue its heroic and exceptional work.”

“At a time when the Israeli people — and Jews around the world — are feeling alone, this donation is so meaningful,” said Catherine L. Reed, CEO of American Friends of Magen David Adom, MDA’s U.S.-based arm. “It’s a testament to the fact that amid all the protests and the increase in anti-Semitism, the people of Israel and the worldwide Jewish community have friends they can count on.”

Rev. Graham first announced in November 2023 that Samaritan’s Purse would donate 21 ambulances, including the 14 dedicated at the ceremony. He made the commitment after seeing the devastation in Kibbutz Be’eri, a cooperative community near the Gaza border, where 100 residents were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists.