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Former Israel Defense Forces Maj. Sagi Dovev 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 that everything had changed.
“The sirens were everywhere. I knew exactly what was going on because I’m on a lot of professional security WhatsApp groups,” Dovev told Fox News Digital. While witnessing the atrocities broadcast live to social networks by the Hamas terrorists that day, he knew that the war had begun.
On the way to the base, his friends started calling him to tell him that his soldiers had been wounded and that they would be sent to Sheba Medical Center. Dovev said he immediately turned around and headed to the hospital where he saw helicopters dropping off dozens of wounded soldiers “every few minutes.”
He ended up staying with one of his soldiers that day when he was rushed into surgery to have his leg amputated. But Dovev realized that he could not leave these soldiers behind.
The walls of a bomb shelter display images of people seeking refuge six months earlier before dying during the deadly October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, near Kibbutz Beeri in the south. of Israel, on April 7, 2024. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
“When they called me to go back to the base to train, I said, ‘I can’t leave the soldiers here at the hospital. I have to stay here and train them here,'” he recalled. “And that’s what I’ve been doing since Oct. 7.”
Dovev, a hand-to-hand combat and resilience coach who previously served as chief special operations hand-to-hand combat trainer in the IDF, has spent more than a year volunteering day and night at Sheba Hospital, helping wounded soldiers regain their strength and sense of purpose. purpose after being injured 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 journeys these young men and women have gone through to regain not only their physical strength, but also their mental strength, as they deal with the devastating wounds of war.
Former IDF special unit major Sagi Dovev shares inspiring videos on his social media accounts about training and rehabilitating wounded soldiers in the IDF. (Sagi Dovev/Instagram)
Share stories like that of Elisha Medan, who lost both legs in an explosion that killed four of his teammates and seriously injured four others.
“But his spirit is high and his resilience is strong. He wants us to stay united (inside and outside Israel) and fight together for Israel’s future. I truly hope that one day soon we will see him leading this country.” “Dovev wrote alongside a video of Medan training with Dovev.
Stories like that of Dor Almog, a young soldier who was the only survivor after 21 of his companions died in a terrorist attack. Dovev shared how Almog went from being on a ventilator after the attack last January to learning to walk again and training in Krav Maga that summer.
Or stories like that of Gaya Zubery, the first female soldier seriously injured in Gaza.
“Only a month and a half after completing her training, Gaya was seriously injured while rescuing soldiers from a tank hit by an RPG in Saja’iyya. Gaya was wounded in both legs and was airlifted in critical condition,” he wrote in the social network. publication in the media.
“During five months of rehabilitation, Gaya underwent numerous surgeries but maintained her fighting spirit. Her determination and resilience are truly inspiring. Gaya never wanted to be a hero; she simply wanted to save lives. Even after her injury, she says she would . 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 hit without a leg. How to control their body to learn their new bodies. And that became very important,” Dovev explained. to Fox News Digital.
“This is what made them feel like warriors again. Because one day they are elite fighters or elite professional athletes, and the next day they need someone to help them shower or go to the bathroom. They have to learn their new bodies, how to be resilient and they do,” he continued.
Sometimes that means sitting by the beds of these soldiers and offering them words of encouragement while they lie unconscious.
“We started building it from scratch, from its lowest point,” Dovev said, adding that each person’s path to rehabilitation can take 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 United States, particularly on college campuses, where protest camps took over several elite universities last spring.
Pro-Palestinian protesters walk from Columbia University to Hunter College.
Dovev, who has seen firsthand the costs of war, strongly criticized students participating in anti-Israel protests.
“Ignorance is not an excuse,” Dovev said. “If any other group was targeted, no one would say, ‘It’s no big deal.’ But this is a big problem.”
“They don’t know the situation,” he said of his interactions with students at the camps. “They can’t even point out where the river or the sea is,” referring to the antisemitic phrase They frequently sang at protests.
Dovev sees the fight against Hamas as a fight to preserve not only his people but also the freedoms of the entire Western world.
These are the American hostages who were taken by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 and held in Gaza. Only Hersh Goldberg-Polin (left) has been returned to Israel after the IDF found him and other hostages murdered by terrorists. Pictured with Hersh are Itay Chen, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Edan Alexander, Omer Neutra, Gadi Haggai and Judi Weinstein Haggai and Keith Siegel. (Photo from Fox News)
“This is the only Jewish land and this is what we are fighting for and this is what we are dying 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 and see the difference for themselves. “However, if they come to Gaza, they will be thrown off the roof in five minutes if they are LGBTQ.”
Dovev warned Americans: “You don’t want this radicalism to come to the United States. It has already started. Look at Canada. Look at Europe. We have to stop the spread of Hamas, Hezbollah and ISIS.”
Israel and Hamas once again appear to be inching toward a ceasefire that could end the 15-month war in Gaza and return home dozens of Israelis held hostage there. the associated press reported earlier this week.
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Both Israel and Hamas are under pressure from outgoing President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump to reach a deal before the January 20 inauguration. But the sides have approached each other before, only for talks to collapse due to various disagreements.
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, seven of whom are Americans, in Gaza.
Israel says that about a third of The nearly 100 remaining hostages have died.but he believes up to half could be dead, the Associated Press reported.
Trump told reporters that “all hell will break loose” if the hostages have not been freed when he takes office.
Caitlin McFall of the Associated Press and Fox News contributed to this report.
