Dr. Gal Rosen, an Israeli paramedic with Magen David Adom in Tel Aviv, recently experienced a harrowing yet heartwarming event while responding to an emergency. Last Thursday, he delivered a healthy baby boy only to find himself moments later scrambling for safety as sirens wailed, signaling an incoming missile attack from Iran.

A Delivery Under Duress

The call came around 6:30 a.m. local time, with a woman in labor needing assistance. By the time Rosen and his team arrived, the husband was already assisting his wife through the final stages of delivery. Rosen stepped in to safely deliver the baby boy.

“It was so surrealistic situation, in my opinion, never happened to me, something like this,” Rosen said, reflecting on the event a week later. He emphasized the unusual circumstances, stating it was his fifth emergency delivery as a paramedic, but the first under the threat of immediate attack.

Balancing Urgency and Care

Immediately after the birth, warning sirens announced an impending missile attack on Tel Aviv. Rosen quickly prioritized the well-being of both mother and child. He ensured the newborn was placed on the mother’s chest for crucial skin-to-skin contact, and assisted the father in cutting the umbilical cord and initiating breastfeeding.

“I tried to do something as close as possible to reality for them,” Rosen explained, wanting to preserve the intimacy of a normal birth despite the chaotic surroundings. He then, with the father’s help, moved the family into the building’s shelter.

Seeking Shelter Amidst the Chaos

Inside the shelter, filled with approximately 50 people, relatives gathered to meet the newborn amidst the blaring alarms and sounds of intercepted missiles. Rosen recounted running with the baby to a public shelter, eventually finding safety with the father.

“I didn’t want the idea for the father also – you know in the future – to think about the situation that a stranger held his baby while there is a missile attack,” Rosen stated, ensuring the father held his son throughout the ordeal.

A Moment of Hope Amidst Loss

The experience came just two days after Rosen faced the tragic loss of five patients during a single shift. “I had, like last Saturday, five cases of death in the shift,” he said. “I don’t want to get home and tell about it in my family.”

He shared the story of the birth with his grandmother, who was overjoyed. “She was so proud of me,” Rosen said. “This is a really nice story to tell to everyone.”

Gratitude and Resilience

Nikola and Violet, the baby’s parents, expressed their gratitude in a joint statement, acknowledging the frightening experience but praising the emergency team for their calm and professional care. “The team functioned amazingly, calmed us, and treated us in the best possible way,” they said.

Despite a personal history marked by loss – his mother was murdered in a terror attack – Rosen remains dedicated to his work and to his home in Israel. “My mother was murdered in a terror attack when I was a kid…to choose to still be here with my family, to live here: This is our home,” he said. He emphasized his commitment to saving lives and fostering hope in a region often defined by conflict.