Young IDF paramedic reflects on battlefield experience in Gaza and Lebanon, life-saving efforts and losses

Despite being only 20 years old, IDF paramedic Sgt. L has already gained extensive experience saving lives under fire in combat zones, first in Gaza against Hamas terrorists and more recently in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces.

At an age when her contemporaries worldwide are studying at universities, Sgt. L is facing life and death decisions alongside IDF combat soldiers in Lebanon. However, not all life-saving efforts were successful. “There was a case in Gaza where I wasn’t able to save someone,” she told Ynet News while operating in southern Lebanon.

“There was sniper fire. We reached the wounded soldier. We were the evacuation team, but he died. After I saw the ‘cleared for publication’ notice, I understood there was no way I would let more cases like that pass through my hands. I want to be the absolute best I can be, with as few bereaved families as possible, as little loss as possible. That is my job,” Sgt. L explained.

She admitted that it is difficult to accept cases of failure when human lives are at stake.

“It is a feeling that stays with you. It doesn’t go away. There was a treatment I performed here in Lebanon, and at the end, I remembered that same soldier. It is not something that passes. I think the most significant challenge is accepting that we will not always have something to do.”

She continued: “I can be the best and provide the best care, and my medics can be excellent, but in the end, there are things bigger than us, and sometimes you have to accept that.”

Sgt. L enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces in March 2024, just five months after the devastating Hamas attack on Israel. on Oct. 7, 2023. After undergoing an intense training program that lasted over one year, she was certified first as a civilian paramedic and later as a military paramedic.

“I see this role as a mission. I think it proved itself very much on October 7 and afterward. There were many paramedics up front on October 7. There were also paramedics who were killed: Amit Mann and Itamar Shemen. You hear about them. We may not be doctors, but we are 20-year-old kids doing a meaningful job. It is a responsibility,” she told Ynet.

About three weeks ago, her work became deeply personal when her childhood friend, IDF Sgt. Ben Cohen, was among four Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon.

“He was a very good friend from home. We studied together all through high school,” she recalled. “When I arrived at the reconnaissance battalion, he was my first friend here. We would come together from home before every entry, sit together, talk, stand guard together. He was an exceptional soldier, and he deserves to be remembered that way. He was like that until the very last moment,” she added.

Sgt. L addressed the challenge of staying focused and professional under fire in the battle zones.

“It is frightening. On the other hand, I did not come from a combat soldier track. I come from the world of medicine, so I am kind of programmed to think medicine. In the end, when people are shooting at me, there are fighters around me dealing with securing the area, with fire and with everything related to combat, and I focus on preparing the area for the wounded and preparing the next forces. My mind is organized around medicine, and precisely within that adrenaline of fire and an encounter, I think medicine,” she said.

There has been a surge in the number of female IDF combat soldiers following October 7. This increase has been driven in part by IDF manpower shortages and the refusal of many eligible ultra-Orthodox men to serve.

In 2025, women made up more than 20% of IDF combat troops, with female soldiers serving across multiple fronts, including Gaza and Lebanon, as well as in Operation Roaring Lion against the Iranian regime.