Hundreds of Israeli soldiers were badly wounded in Gaza. Here's what saved them

Dr. Galit Sivak (center), caput of nan vascular room department, performs room astatine Rabin Medical Center successful Petah Tikvah, Israel. She has developed a surgical process during nan Gaza warfare that saved nan limbs of 35 severely wounded Israeli soldiers. Maya Levin for NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Maya Levin for NPR

PETAH TIKVAH, Israel — It's not uncommon successful Israel coming for a young man successful his early 20s to beryllium spotted connected nan streets pinch an amputated limb aliases superior wound.

More than 500 Israeli soldiers person survived superior injuries fighting successful Gaza, according to nan military.

Many of them endured catastrophic wounds that would person killed aliases maimed them successful Israel's past wars, Israeli combat medics and surgeons say.

What has saved their lives? Medical advances, for illustration drones delivering humor units connected nan battlefield, and lessons surgeons person learned treating galore soldiers connected nan operating table.

" If it was nan past war, I would person ... lived each my life pinch 1 limb and 1 lung," said Nevo, a 25-year-old worker who was severely wounded successful an detonation successful Gaza successful precocious 2023.

Dr. Galit Sivak (left) examines her patient, Nevo. The 25-year-old diligent was serving arsenic a lieutenant successful an Israeli subject infantry brigade successful Gaza erstwhile he was severely wounded successful an detonation connected Dec. 26, 2023. His limb was saved by Sivak's procedure. Maya Levin for NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Maya Levin for NPR

Nevo is among respective twelve soldiers whose limbs were saved by an Israeli civilian surgeon who has shared her aesculapian acquisition successful nan warfare pinch apical doctors astatine nan renowned Mayo Clinic successful Minnesota.

Nevo declined to springiness his past name, aliases beryllium identified successful photographs, successful statement pinch a caller Israeli subject protocol against publishing nan identities of soldiers who served successful Gaza to protect them from imaginable apprehension overseas for alleged warfare crimes.

Drones delivering humor to nan battlefield, and different advances

At an Israeli subject guidelines successful precocious 2024, young soldiers presented caller exertion being utilized to dainty wounded soldiers successful Gaza.

One worker held up an Israeli-made drone, called Thor, which tin driblet bombs and besides parachute units of humor from nan sky, factoring successful nan upwind direction, to scope wounded soldiers successful Gaza.

In past combat, Israeli combat medics treated wounded soldiers pinch freeze-dried plasma, but nan subject has now developed exertion to quickly present full blood, stored astatine nan correct temperature, to a severely hemorrhaging worker successful nan battlefield. Whole blood, alternatively than freeze-dried plasma, is credited by nan subject pinch redeeming soldiers' lives.

A portable instrumentality recently deployed successful Gaza, developed by nan Israeli subject pinch Israeli biomedical institution Inovytec, separates oxygen from nan aerial to ventilate wounded soldiers without utilizing pressurized oxygen cylinders that are not arsenic safe connected nan battlefield.

"There is simply a batch of caller innovation," said Dr. Todd Rasmussen, a erstwhile U.S. Air Force surgeon and master successful subject medicine, now astatine nan Mayo Clinic. "We cognize that getting humor into patients who person mislaid humor arsenic accelerated arsenic imaginable is bully to prevention life and limb. That was learned during nan Second World War. But delivering that humor to medics by drones? That's very new."

Today, physicians treating soldiers successful Israel and successful Ukraine are sharing their experiences pinch surgeons successful nan U.S. Rasmussen calls it nan "silver lining" of war.

"A batch of these experiences and technologies aliases methodologies do get translated to nan attraction of civilians," Rasmussen said.

How 1 expert saved nan limbs of 35 Israeli soldiers

Rasmussen's squad astatine nan Mayo Clinic has been successful touch pinch Dr. Galit Sivak astatine Rabin Medical Center successful Petah Tikva, Israel.

Sivak has been sharing nan method she's utilized during nan Gaza warfare to prevention nan limbs of 35 Israeli soldiers — including nan 25-year-old worker Nevo.

Dr. Galit Sivak (center) performs an cognition astatine Rabin Medical Center. Maya Levin for NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Maya Levin for NPR

"He was severely wounded," Sivak said from her infirmary office. "He had a lung wounded ... he mislaid his teeth. And his limb was [a] really severely mangled extremity."

The fierce quality of crushed combat successful nan existent Gaza warfare meant much limb injuries among soldiers compared to Israel's past crushed violative successful Gaza successful 2014. One advantage wounded Israeli soldiers person benefited from is nan proximity to nan battlefield — evacuated from Gaza by chopper wrong astir an hr to nan operating array of a top-notch infirmary successful Israel.

Sivak said she ditched nan accustomed aesculapian protocol of harm power erstwhile she received soldiers for illustration Nevo, who had some a limb and lung injury.

"It's written successful nan books that, time off nan limb alone, and erstwhile his lungs are better, past you tin woody pinch nan leg. But nan limb is not going to hold for you," Sivak said.

Sivak besides saved nan limbs of respective Palestinian suspects severely wounded successful Gaza and detained by nan Israeli military. But since nan warfare began, Palestinian civilians successful Gaza person not had entree to Israel's precocious aesculapian system. Israel nary longer permits Palestinian civilians wounded successful Gaza to beryllium treated astatine Israeli civilian hospitals.

The aesculapian strategy successful Gaza has been severely battered by Israeli bombardment. The United Nations says Gaza has nan highest number of kid amputees per capita successful nan world. Health officials successful Gaza opportunity much than 4,700 Palestinians person had limbs amputated successful nan astir 2 years of war.

A Palestinian girl, Gade Debabesh, is seen successful Gaza City connected April 22 aft portion of her limb was amputated. Khames Alrefi/Anadolu via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Khames Alrefi/Anadolu via Getty Images

Soldiers transportation scars, immoderate invisible, for nan remainder of their lives

Nevo, nan worker whose limb was saved by Dr. Sivak, regularly hears nan booms of Israeli bombardment successful Gaza from his location connected a kibbutz adjacent nan Gaza border. Sometimes his windows shake.

His limb is missing ample chunks of muscle, near down connected nan battlefield successful Gaza from nan detonation that wounded him. But acknowledgment to his aesculapian care, he tin do his CrossFit training, he tin thrust a bike, and is presently walking successful Asia.

"He tin do everything pinch nan leg. Maybe it's ugly, but it's good," said Sivak, his surgeon.

Still, Nevo's mind often drifts to nan infinitesimal successful Gaza erstwhile Palestinian militants detonated explosives successful a home, wounding him and sidesplitting 2 adjacent friends successful his service unit. He often thinks: Could nan portion person acted otherwise truthful they'd beryllium live today?

"You ever deliberation astir them," Nevo said. "We deliberation astir what we did wrong, what we did correct ... and we study from it. But I cannot spell back."

Like galore soldiers who person served successful Gaza, he now has a ample tattoo connected his limb pinch nan day of his wounded — different imperishable reminder connected his assemblage of nan infinitesimal that changed his life.

He is 1 of nan galore young soldiers carrying scars, immoderate invisible, for nan remainder of their lives.

Dr. Galit Sivak (center), caput of nan vascular room department, walks done Rabin Medical Center. Maya Levin for NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Maya Levin for NPR

Itay Stern contributed to this story.