Israeli rescue team pulls baby from rubble after missile barrage

A three-month-old baby was pulled out of the rubble in Rishon Letzion early Saturday morning in the aftermath of the third Iranian barrage of ballistic missiles fired at the greater Tel Aviv area.

Firefighters, police and Magen David Adom paramedics rushed to the scene where a building was directly hit by a missile. Following a complex rescue operation, the baby was pulled out alive and in good condition.

Shortly afterwards, the infant’s parents were rescued. The scene was one of heavy damage, with fires, ruins and additional residents trapped underneath the rubble.

Police officer Staff Sgt. Aviv Saranga was seen embracing the baby.

“We identified extensive destruction of homes and vehicles and received reports of people trapped,” Saranga told reporters at the scene.

“We began rescue operations together with Yasam forces [Police Special Patrol Unit], MDA and the fire and rescue services. We located a large number of trapped individuals, among them an infant just a few months old whom we managed to rescue,” she relayed.

“I held the baby for quite some time during the incident,” the police officer went on to say. “We also rescued her family, her parents. I approached them and brought them their baby. They were also trapped and in need of medical care. The baby remained in my arms until she was handed over for medical treatment. We then continued rescuing the rest of the trapped individuals and carried on with our mission—saving lives.”

While the rescue operation was underway, “we identified additional launches in the area, [so] I asked people to enter bomb shelters and stay safe. This was a large-scale and highly complex incident,” Saranga said.

“I am a police officer in the State of Israel and this is my mission. I felt deep down that I was saving lives. I held the baby in my arms. … [I felt] a sense of fulfillment. A baby just recently born—there’s nothing more rewarding than that. I’m proud of it,” she said.

Fire and Rescue Service Capt. Idan Chen was the one who pulled the baby out of the ruins. Speaking to Walla News, he said, “I grabbed [the baby] in my arms and handed her to the first officer I saw, then started pulling the rest of the family out.

“At the same time, there were more people trapped upstairs, others in the apartment next door—and across the way, there was a fire. I had to manage the entire scene, with destruction in every direction. I needed to get all those people out, one by one. I was covered in the blood of those I rescued. It was an extremely complex scene,” he said.

In a statement, the Israel Police said it had isolated the scene of the missile strike, and searched for trapped individuals and for unexploded ordnance as well.

As of 7:45 a.m., 20 people were evacuated for further medical care in various injury conditions, the police said.

Three people were killed and dozens were injured from the missile barrages fired by Tehran overnight Friday and early Saturday morning.

Yisrael Aloni, 73, was one of two killed in Rishon Letzion.

The Islamic Republic fired about 100 missiles at around 9 p.m. local time, and a few evaded Israel’s defence systems and struck two areas in central Israel. About 40 people were wounded, including two who were in severe-to-critical condition. One of the two, Eti Cohen Angel, 74, from Ramat Gan, succumbed to her injuries.

Some others are in moderate condition and the rest had minor injuries, according to MDA.

JNS