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previous israel defense forces Major Saj Doviv spent 20 years training young soldiers in the Israeli army before retiring two years ago to start his own organization. But when he woke up on the morning of October 7, 2023, he knew everything had changed.
“Sirens were everywhere. I knew exactly what was going on because I was in a lot of WhatsApp groups for professional safety,” Doviv told Fox News Digital. when he witnessed the atrocities being broadcast live social media After being attacked by Hamas terrorists that day, he knew the war had begun.
On the way to the base, friends began calling to tell him that his soldiers were injured and were being taken to the hospital. Sheba Medical Center. Doviv said he immediately turned around and headed to the hospital, where he saw helicopters airlifting dozens of wounded soldiers “every few minutes.”
He ended up staying with a soldier that day as he was rushed to the operating room for an amputation. But Doviv realized he couldn’t leave these soldiers behind.
Pictures are shown on the walls of a bomb shelter where people seek shelter six months before Hamas terrorists launched a deadly attack on Israel in Gaza near Kibbutz Beli in southern Israel on April 7, 2024 Sheltered, then killed. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
“When I was called back to the base to train, I said, I can’t leave the soldiers in the hospital. I have to stay here and train them,” he recalled. “That’s what I’ve been doing since Oct. 7.”
Doviv, close combat and Resilience trainer A former lead trainer for special operations close combat in the Israel Defense Forces, he has been volunteering around the clock at Sheba Hospital for more than a year, helping injured soldiers who have been injured in the ongoing war in Gaza regain strength and a sense of purpose.
“It’s not even just a job,” he explains.
Doviv shared inspiring videos on his social media accounts, showcasing the incredible journey these young men and women went through to regain not only their physical strength, but also their mental strength as they dealt with the devastating injuries of war. journey.
Former IDF Special Forces Major Saji Doviv shared inspirational videos on his social media accounts about the training and rehabilitation of injured IDF soldiers. (Saji Doviv/Instagram)
He shared the story of Elisha Medan, who lost both legs in an explosion that killed four teammates and seriously injured four others.
“But his spirit is high and his resilience is great. He wants us (inside and outside Israel) to stay united and work together for Israel’s future. I really hope that one day we will see him soon to lead this country,” Doviv wrote next to a video of Medan training with Doviv.
Dor Almog, a young soldier, was the sole survivor after 21 of his teammates were killed in a terrorist attack. Doviv shared how Almog went from being hooked up to a ventilator after the attack last January, to learning to walk again that summer, to training in Krav Maga.
Or stories like Gaya Zubery, the first female soldier in Gaza to be seriously injured.
“Just a month and a half after completing his training, Gaya was seriously injured while rescuing soldiers from a tank hit by a rocket in Sajaya. Gaya was injured in both legs and was airlifted in critical condition,” he tweeted the media wrote. Media Posts.
“During the five-month recovery process, Gaya underwent multiple surgeries but maintained her fighting spirit. Her determination and resilience were truly inspiring. Gaya never wanted to be a hero; she just wanted to save lives. Even while injured Later, she also said she would do everything all over again,” Doviv said.
“I started teaching them how to fight again. How to walk again, how to fight without legs. How to punch without legs. How to control your body to learn a new body. It became a big thing, ” Doviv explained to Fox News Digital.
“It makes them feel like warriors again. Because one day they’re an elite warrior or an elite professional athlete, and the next day they need someone to help them shower or help them go to the bathroom. They have to learn new things about their bodies, how to become warriors again Resilience,” he continued.
Sometimes that meant sitting at the bedsides of these soldiers and offering words of encouragement while they were unconscious.
“We build it from the ground up, starting at the lowest point,” Doviv said. Each person’s journey to recovery can take anywhere from a few months to a year, he said.
The proud Israeli sees it as his mission to help these soldiers feel strong again and share their stories with the world, even as anti-Israel sentiment has spread across the globe since the Oct. 7 attack.
The war between Israel and Hamas remains a divisive issue in the United States, particularly on college campuses, where protest camps occupied several elite universities last spring.
Pro-Palestinian protesters walked from Columbia University to Hunter College.
Doviv, who has seen firsthand the cost of war, has been an outspoken critic of students participating in anti-Israel protests.
“Ignorance is no excuse,” Doviv said. “If any other group was targeted, no one would say, ‘It’s not a big deal.'” But, this is a big deal. “
“They don’t understand the situation,” he said of his interactions with students at the camp. “They couldn’t even point out where the river or the ocean was,” referring to antisemitic phrases Slogans are often chanted at protests.
Doviv believes that the fight against Hamas is not only about protecting his people, but also about protecting the freedom of the entire Western world.
These are the American hostages taken by Hamas terrorists in Gaza on October 7, 2023. Only Hersh Goldberg-Pohling (left) has returned to Israel after the Israel Defense Forces discovered that he and other hostages had been killed by terrorists. Pictured next to Hersh are Itay Chen, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Edan Alexander, Omer Neutra, Gadi Haggai, Judi Weinstein Haggai and Keith Siegel. (Fox News photo)
“This is the only Jewish land, this is what we fight for, this is what we die for. For this country, for democracy, for the Jewish people, for the Western world.”
“Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East,” he said, inviting Israel’s critics to visit Tel Aviv to see the difference for themselves. “Yet if they come to Gaza, if they are LGBTQ, they will be thrown from the roof within five minutes.”
Doviv warned Americans, “You don’t want this radicalism coming to the United States. It’s already started. Look at Canada. Look at Europe. We have to stop the spread of Hamas, Hezbollah and ISIS.”
Israel and Hamas appear to be moving again toward a ceasefire that could end the 15-month war in Gaza and bring back dozens of Israelis held hostage. Associated Press reported earlier this week.
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Both Israel and Hamas are under pressure from outgoing President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump to reach a deal before the Jan. 20 inauguration. But the two sides had been close before, but negotiations eventually broke down due to various differences.
Last week, Trump was asked about the threat he first issued in early December against the Hamas terrorist group, which is still holding dozens of hostages in Gaza, seven of whom are Americans.
Israel says about one-third Nearly 100 remaining hostages are deadbut according to the Associated Press, it is believed that up to half of those people may die.
Trump told reporters that if the hostages were not freed by the time he took office, “hell would break out.”
The Associated Press and Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
