When United Hatzalah volunteers Moshe Weizman and Elyashiv Mizrachi pulled a bleeding officer from a civilian vehicle near the Bror Hayil Junction on the morning of October 7, they had one thought: keep him alive. They had no idea the gravely wounded man they were racing to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon would one day run the Mossad. Nearly three years later, they found out — face to face, at Mossad headquarters.

New Mossad chief Roman Gofman was reunited with the two United Hatzalah medics who saved his life during the October 7 massacre for the first time since that day at his official inauguration ceremony on Tuesday.

At approximately 8:30 a.m. on October 7, as Hamas terrorists launched their assault on southern Israel, a civilian vehicle flagged down the ambulance driven by Weizman near the Bror Hayil Junction. Inside was then-Brig. Gen. Roman Gofman, commander of the Tze’elim military base, who had sustained severe gunshot wounds while fighting Hamas terrorists. Weizman transferred Gofman to the ambulance and began an emergency evacuation, speaking with the wounded officer throughout the journey in an effort to keep him conscious.

“There were vehicles on fire, people running, shooting everywhere,” Weizman later recalled of that morning. He described waking to sirens in Bnei Brak, rushing to his ambulance, and driving straight toward the Gaza border as reports of massacres poured in. When Gofman identified himself, the name meant nothing to the paramedic in the fog of war. “He told me he was the commander of the Tze’elim base. I didn’t understand who he was.”

Mizrachi later joined the evacuation mid-route, and together the two transported Gofman to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. Only months later did Weizman learn whom he had saved.

In a gesture of gratitude, the Prime Minister’s Office and Gofman invited the two medics to attend the official inauguration ceremony at Mossad headquarters. The new Mossad chief shook hands with them, thanked them, and posed for a photograph with them.

The medics were visibly moved. “During those moments in the ambulance, I had no idea that the man we were treating would one day lead one of the most sensitive and important organizations in the State of Israel,” Weizman said after the ceremony. “We saw a wounded fighter on the side of the road, a courageous commander who spoke with us throughout the evacuation. We had one mission: keep him conscious and save his life. Who could have imagined that one day he would become the director of the Mossad? Standing here at Mossad headquarters and watching him assume this position is a full-circle moment beyond words.”

Mizrachi added: “That morning, after transporting wounded people in my private car to Barzilai” — he paused — “I had an enormous sense of satisfaction that I helped save such a man.”

Gofman succeeds outgoing Mossad director David Barnea. His appointment drew attention well before the inauguration — newly surfaced footage from October 7 showed Gofman in active combat against Hamas terrorists, adding a visceral, defining chapter to a long battlefield career. He now leads the agency as Israel navigates one of the most complex intelligence environments in its history, with active fronts against Hezbollah and ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)