Former IDF soldier gives hope to seriously injured soldiers

Ex Israel Defense Forces Major Sagi Dovev spent 20 years training young soldiers in the Israeli army before retiring two years ago and founding his own organization. But when he woke up on the morning of October 7, 2023, he knew that everything had changed.

“The sirens were everywhere. I knew exactly what was happening because I belong to a lot of WhatsApp groups dealing with occupational safety,” Dovev told Fox News Digital. Because he witnessed atrocities broadcast live social media by Hamas terrorists that day, he knew the war had started.

On the way to the base, his friends started calling him and telling him that his soldiers were injured and were being sent to the hospital Sheba Medical Center. Dovev said he immediately turned around and went to the hospital, where he saw helicopters dropping dozens of wounded soldiers “every few minutes.”

He ended up staying with one of his soldiers that day as he was taken into surgery to amputate his leg. But Dovev realized that he could not leave these soldiers.

FAMILIES OF ISRAEL HOSTAGES ORGANIZE RALLY IN CENTRAL PARK, CALL ON BIDEN, TRUMP TO BRING THEIR LOVED ONES HOME

Photos hang on the walls of a bomb shelter where six months ago people sought refuge before they were killed during the deadly Oct. 7, 2024, attack on Israel by Gaza-based Hamas terrorists, near Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel, April 7, 2024. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)

“When I was called back to the base for training, I said I couldn’t leave the soldiers here in the hospital. I have to stay here and train them here,” he recalled. “And that’s what I’ve been doing since October 7.”

Dovev, close combat and immunity trainer who previously served as the IDF’s chief special operations trainer, has spent more than a year volunteering day and night at Sheba Hospital, helping wounded soldiers regain strength and a sense of purpose after being wounded in the ongoing war in Gaza.

“It became more than just a job,” he explained.

Dovev shares inspiring videos on his social media accounts showing the incredible journey these young men and women went through to regain not only their physical strength, but also their mental strength while dealing with devastating war injuries.

ISRAELI WATCH A BODY IN THE DEBATE ON THE FUTURE OF GAGA: “They will make possible things that were not possible before”

Former IDF Special Forces Major Sagi Dovev shares inspiring videos on the training and rehabilitation of wounded soldiers in the IDF on his social media accounts. (Saga Dovev/Instagram)

He shares stories like Elisha Medan, who lost both legs in an explosion that killed four members of his team and seriously injured four others.

“But his spirit is high and his resilience is strong. He wants us to remain united (in Israel and beyond) and fight together for Israel’s future. I really hope we see him leading this country one day,” Dovev wrote alongside a video of Medan training with Dovev.

Stories like Dor Almog, a young soldier who was the only survivor after 21 of his squad were killed in a terrorist attack. Dovev told how Almog went from being on a ventilator after an attack last January, to learning to walk again and this summer to training in Krav Maga.

Or stories like Gaya Zubery, the first female soldier seriously wounded in Gaza.

“Just a month and a half after completing her training, Gaya was seriously injured while rescuing soldiers from an RPG-hit tank in Saja’iyya. Gaya was injured in both legs and was transported by plane in critical condition,” he wrote on social media. media entry.

“During five months of rehabilitation, Gaya underwent numerous surgeries, but retained her fighting spirit. Her determination and resilience are truly inspiring. Gaya never wanted to be a hero; she just wanted to save lives. She says that even after the injury, she would do it all over again,” Dovev said.

“I started teaching them how to fight again. How to walk again, how to fight without a leg. How to punch without a leg. How to control your body to learn a new body. And it became a big thing,” Dovev explained to Fox News Digital.

“That’s what made them feel like warriors again. Because one day they are elite warriors or elite professional athletes, and the next they need someone to help them shower or help them go to the bathroom. They have to learn a new body, how to become immune again,” he continued.

Sometimes that means sitting at the bedside of these soldiers and giving them words of encouragement while they remain unconscious.

“We start building it from scratch, from the lowest point,” Dovev said, saying that each person’s path to rehabilitation could take anywhere from several months to a year.

The proud Israeli feels it is his calling to help these soldiers feel strong again and share their stories with the world, even as anti-Israel sentiment has spread around the world since the October 7 attacks.

The war between Israel and Hamas remains a divisive issue in the U.S., especially on college campuses, where protest encampments took over several elite universities last spring.

Pro-Palestinian protesters walk from Columbia University to Hunter College.

Dovev, who saw the costs of the war with his own eyes, bluntly criticized students participating in anti-Israel protests.

“Ignorance is not an excuse,” Dovev said. “If any other group had been targeted, no one would have said, ‘It’s no big deal.’ But it’s a big deal.”

“They don’t know the situation,” he said of his interactions with students in the camps. “They can’t even tell where the river or the sea is,” referring to anti-Semitic phrase was often chanted during protests.

Dovev sees the fight against Hamas as a fight to preserve not only his nation, but the freedom of the entire Western world.

These are American hostages who were taken by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 and held in Gaza. Only Hersh Goldberg-Polin (left) returned to Israel after the IDF found him and other hostages killed by terrorists. Pictured alongside Hersh are Itay Chen, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Edan Alexander, Omer Neutra, Gadi Haggai and Judi Weinstein Haggai and Keith Siegel. (Fox News Photo)

“This is the only Jewish land and this is what we fight for and die for. For this country, for democracy, for the Jewish nation, for the Western world.”

“Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East,” he said, inviting critics of Israel to visit Tel Aviv and see the difference for themselves. “But if they come to Gaza, they will be thrown off a roof within five minutes if they are LGBTQ.”

Dovev warned Americans: “You don’t want this radicalism to reach the United States. It has already started. Look at Canada. Look at Europe. We must stop the spread of Hamas, Hezbollah and ISIS.”

Israel and Hamas once again appear to be heading towards a ceasefire that could end the 15-month war in Gaza and bring home dozens of Israelis held hostage there. Associated Press reported earlier this week.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Both Israel and Hamas are under pressure from outgoing President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump to reach an agreement before the January 20 inauguration. However, the parties were already close to reaching an agreement, and the talks ended in misunderstandings.

Last week, Trump was asked about threats he first made in early December against the terrorist organization Hamas, which continues to hold dozens of hostages in Gaza, seven of them Americans.

Israel claims about one third the remaining almost 100 hostages were killedbut he believes that as many as half of them may be dead, reports the Associated Press.

Trump told reporters that “all hell would break loose” if the hostages were not released by the time he took office.

The Associated Press and Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.