MDA, city residents share experience of Hezbollah rocket attack in Ramat Gan

"There was a huge boom, I felt the blast wave, and the house shook,” shared a city resident.

By ORI SELA, HODAYA RAN NOVEMBER 19, 2024 00:34 Updated: NOVEMBER 19, 2024 00:35

Security and rescue personel work at the scene where a bus and buildings were hit following a rocket attack from Lebanon towards Israel in Ramat Gan in central Israel November 18, 2024. (photo credit: REUTERS/ITAI RON)

Residents of Ramat Gan were reportedly in shock following the rocket hit in Ben Gurion Street in the city on Monday, wounding several people.

"There was a huge boom, I felt the blast wave, and the house shook," shared a city resident.

After being wounded in the attack, Eran Lansky was rushed in serious condition to Beilinson Hospital. Lansky recalled his experience in an interview with Walla, stating, "I own a suit shop. I had just finished helping a family of five minutes earlier. They left the shop, and then the siren started. I was about to leave, and there were two explosions. On the third explosion, it felt like everything flew into my face. I was thrown about ten meters. It exploded right in the shop. Everything went black," Lansky recounted. "I have brain and shoulder hemorrhages. It was a miracle. The shop completely collapsed."

Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedic Yuval Mizrahi told Walla that "One of the moderately wounded persons was standing on the street and was thrown ten meters by the blast wave, suffering a limb fracture. Two others were wounded by shrapnel. The seriously wounded woman was under one of the windows that flew off the building and hit her."

United Hatzalah volunteer EMTs reporting to the scene of a rocket attack on November 18 in Ramat Gan. (credit: UNITED HATZALAH‏)

"Some of the wounded took shelter in nearby shops and were hurt by shrapnel. Windows and metal fragments flew from the upper floors," said another MDA paramedic, David Katanov.

Treating the wounded

MDA emergency medic Yaakov Lubinsky said, "We arrived with a large team and saw a lot of chaos and destruction. A 54-year-old woman was fully conscious, lying on the road, suffering from shrapnel wounds to her lower limbs. We provided her with life-saving medical treatment, including stopping the bleeding, and quickly evacuated her to the hospital in serious but stable condition. Several people suffering from shock were treated by MDA teams on site."

Initially, the IDF stated it was missile fragments from an interception, but the Central District Police Commander claimed it was a direct hit. After hours of confusion and inconsistent reports, the IDF Spokesperson confirmed that the damage in Ramat Gan resulted from missile fragments due to an interception.

The impact caused damage to the electrical infrastructure, affecting a high-voltage line and disrupting power supply to nearby streets. The Israel Electric Corporation stated their teams were on the way to repair the damage and urged the public to avoid areas with exposed electrical wires. Additionally, a nearby synagogue sustained property damage.