IN THE MIDST OF CHAOS, AN AMBULANCE STOOD STILL
WHAT HAPPENED THERE?
Because even in a place built to save lives, death arrived first.
Because inside that ambulance were people trying to protect, to hold, to breathe – and for eighteen souls, it became their final shelter.
And yet –
they faced the darkness together,
and their names became the light we carry.
October 7th, 2023
As Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel and descended upon the Nova music festival, thousands ran for their lives through fields that had, moments earlier, been filled with music and light.
Some reached the nearby command post, the chappak, where about fifty people crowded together – two policewomen and several security guards among them – while outside, a brutal battle raged.
At around 9:00 a.m., a policeman burst through the door and shouted:
“Run! They’re right next to us!”
Gunfire echoed outside, along with shouts of “Allahu Akbar.”
There was no time to think.
They ran.
The Ambulance
In the area of the canopies – the space once filled with tents and the cries of terrified people – stood an ambulance.
Those who escaped from the command post climbed into it together.
One of them whispered, “Be careful… please, take care of my daughter.”
Inside, fear filled every inch of air.
Dozens huddled together, trembling and silent.
And not even a minute passed…
The Attack
A minute and a half later, the terrorists drew near.
They advanced toward the ambulance in formation, shouting “Allahu Akbar”, and opened fire.
The first explosion came from a grenade thrown inside.
People collapsed instantly.
Amid the chaos, one woman’s body shielded another from the bullets that followed – a final act of protection that saved a life.
Then came another explosion.
An RPG hit the front of the ambulance, shattering the engine.
Flames spread quickly.
Half the vehicle was burning.
The Aftermath
The people inside the ambulance absorbed everything.
They were the clear target.
The terrorists focused all their fire on them.
Pressed together, they lay on top of one another – bodies intertwined in courage and desperation.
Those who tried to reach them later found the flames unbearable.
There wasn’t a single body left intact – not inside the ambulance, not around it.
The closest estimate: eighteen people.
Eighteen souls.
These are only approximations, pieced together by parents trying to reconstruct what happened.
It’s believed the ambulance exploded between 8:25 and 9:26 a.m.
Inside that ambulance were people who tried to save, protect, and hold on to life, even in the face of unthinkable darkness.
Each of them had a story, a laugh, a family waiting for them – a world they carried within.
Through their images, names, and the fragments they left behind, we remember not only how they died, but how they lived: with courage, kindness, and love.
May their light continue to shine through us.
May we never forget their faces.
May their stories remind us of the human heart – fragile, fierce, and infinite.
Through us, they live on.
This story is based on the testimony of a survivor of the Nova music festival massacre.