Paramedic Injured in Gaza Recounts Ordeal and Calls for Recognition

Gaya Zubari, a 22-year-old paramedic from Ramat Gan, sustained severe leg injuries during an attempt to rescue casualties under fire in Shuja'iyya on December 7th. Zubari, serving with the Armored Corps' 53rd Battalion, was part of a military convoy when a combatant attacked a lead tank with an RPG. While trying to reach the wounded, Zubari was hit by gunfire, suffering injuries to her thighs near the pelvis. She recounts how a reservist named Avi Bledeser, despite having four children at home, risked his life to apply a tourniquet and help move her to a personnel carrier before she was evacuated by helicopter to Soroka Medical Center.

Zubari spent five months hospitalized and then underwent rehabilitation at Sheba Medical Center, where she had to relearn basic movements. She continues to receive treatment and acknowledges she will not fully recover to her previous physical state. Her recovery has been supported by her family and fellow patients in rehabilitation, whom she describes as her anchor.

Before her injury, Zubari was a dancer and was completing a prestigious IDF paramedic course. She and her fellow trainees were at Kibbutz Sufa in the Gaza envelope on October 7th, where they were caught in the initial Hamas attack. Lacking weapons and medical equipment, they were confined to safe rooms for 32 hours until evacuated.

Zubari now lives with nerve damage, scars, and uses a leg brace. She is undergoing psychological treatment and struggles with the loss of her ability to dance. She finds strength in sports, particularly surfing, and feels her injury has taught her about her own resilience. She also noted a perceived difference in how male and female soldiers injured in combat are treated, stating that women, including combat paramedics who saved lives in Gaza, deserve equal recognition and appreciation.