“G-d, how could this happen? How can this be despite my efforts to protect him from harm with my own body? Hashem gave me a precious gift, Orel, who has brought nothing but joy to our world since his arrival. Suddenly, this heavy blow! I do not know what to do with myself,” stated Angela, the 7.5-year-old Katyusha rocket victim’s mother, as he was taken to the trauma unit of Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva on Thursday. Upon his arrival, his condition was listed as extremely critical, chunks of shrapnel having pierced his delicate skull.

Angela when on to explain that “since his injuries, my life has ended. You don’t understand – I waited 11 years for his arrival, undergoing many fertility treatments. Please, we must all continue davening for him!”

Angela explains that on Thursday they decided to take sometime to enjoy, going ‘out on the town’ as it were. As they were traveling a siren sounded and the vehicle immediately came to a halt in compliance with IDF Homefront Command instructions. “Orel got on the ground and I covered him with my body as best as I could,” added Angela. “He said to me, ‘Ima, don’t be afraid. We are okay’. Then, suddenly, I saw blood coming out of his body. So much blood! He shouted really loud ‘ima’ as if he wanted to tell me not to worry, that he wasn’t going to die”.

Orel was taken directly to the operating room where neurosurgeons and other medical specialists worked to control the inter-cranial bleeding. They also tried removing the shrapnel from his head. He has since undergone a second surgical procedure but they have not succeeded in removing all the shrapnel that penetrated his skull.

Avi, Orel’s dad, explains he arrived home from work and was asked to remain with Orel’s 8-month-old sister. “As soon as I heard the siren, I phoned Angela but she did not respond,” Avi explains.

“I began thinking the worst and a short time later, Angela telephoned me. She was crying and hysterical. ‘My baby is dying’ she screamed”.

Angela later explained that after Orel was hit she stood up and began screaming. She picked her mortally wounded son up in her arms, stopped a vehicle, and they transported him to the Soroka Hospital where Angela is employed as a surgical nurse.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)