From Florida to Israel’s Front Lines, Volunteer Doctor Responds to Call of Duty

Jerusalem, 12 October, 2023 (TPS) -- The ambulance raced through the streets of Sderot as Dr. Daniel Aghion tended to the badly injured police officer. Terrorists had taken over the city’s police station in a brutal assault. Suddenly, the officer’s phone rang.

“He said, ‘My brother, don’t you worry, I’m coming back,'”Aghion recalled to the Tazpit Press Service.

“That brought tears to my eyes, the commitment these young men have under fire, rockets flying over their heads…to go back to the frontlines, to go and finish their job. That is the story, that is our people and our DNA. In the most difficult of situations our people pull through,” he said.

Aghion, a 42-year-old Florida neurosurgeon was vacationing with his family in Israel for the Sukkot holiday when the war broke out. But rather than flee the turmoil, he decided to stay and volunteer his help.

“I felt obligated to stay and be a part of what my people are going through here. My people are under attack and at war with a brutal and cruel enemy, so it’s my obligation to stand up and show everyone what we stand up for,” he said.

“I can’t see people injured and hurt, and as a surgeon in US to be able to provide services for my brothers and sisters here, I couldn’t bring myself to leave.”

He has been spending his days with an intensive care unit (ICU) ambulance crew making the rounds to devastated communities near the Gaza border, where shootouts with Hamas terrorists continued for several days after the initial attack.

“Having a physician on one of the ambulances definitely provides increased level of care and some comfort for the heroic volunteers that I am working with,” he explained.

And Aghion is adamant that he will stay as long as he is needed.

“It’s my privilege to do what I can, I wish I could do more to help those who risk themselves every day to provide security for the people of Israel,” he said.

The decision to stay was not taken lightly. Aghion’s wife and four children, ages 10-16 were supportive of his mission.

“My wife literally told me, go for it, I know who I married,” he recalled with a tear welled up in his eye. ”The best response I could get. My amazing wife and our wonderful children let me be here, not for me or themselves, but for the rest of the people of this country. So, I owe this to them.”

To the doctors, nurses and emergency responders considering appeals to volunteer, Aghion said, “It shows a tremendous support to the local medics and hospitals. If anybody feels the same way as me, and can’t stand aside, please, get on a plane. Come on over. It shows we stand strong with the people of Israel.”