Yehoshua Shani, a member of the right-wing Gvura Forum and bereaved father of a son who fell in Gaza, revealed a disturbing experience that occurred on Shabbos to his nephew, who was seriously wounded in combat in Lebanon last week and hospitalized at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.

“Every Jewish mother knows that she has entrusted the fate of her sons to IDF commanders worthy of that responsibility—is that really so????” Shani wrote on social media. “What happened this Shabbos in the intensive care unit at Rambam Hospital requires an immediate investigation.”

“Three days ago, my nephew, Eitan, an IDF soldier, was seriously wounded in Lebanon and hospitalized at Rambam Hospital along with three other fellow soldiers who were also wounded. Since then, we have been living in tremendous fear for his well-being.

“Eitan was sedated and on a ventilator. Only yesterday afternoon did he regain consciousness, suffering from burns all over his body, severe pain, fever, and hallucinations. Then night fell. A new shift came on duty in the ward. According to the family, every member of the nursing staff on that shift was an Arabic speaker. At a certain point, all of the families were removed from the ward, and the doors were locked.

“You have to understand the situation: four seriously wounded IDF soldiers who had just returned from fighting in Lebanon were left alone behind locked doors, without their family members, while the entire staff on duty were Arabic speakers.

“I want to be clear: given the security reality we are living in, this is a situation that naturally raises difficult questions and a sense of insecurity for the families. Those feelings must not be dismissed, and the questions must not be swept under the rug. Family members repeatedly asked to enter—not to interfere with the medical staff or remain for hours, but simply to go in for a moment to see that Eitan was all right. Time after time they asked, and time after time they were refused.”

“At a certain point, Dovid, Eitan’s brother, decided that he had to see for himself what was happening with his brother. He forced the door open and entered the ward. What he describes seeing there is simply unimaginable.

“Eitan was not okay. According to Dovid, his wounded brother was lying there begging for water, and at that moment, not a single staff member was by his side to help him. A soldier seriously wounded in Lebanon, who had only hours earlier awakened after being sedated and ventilated, suffering from burns, pain, fever, and hallucinations, was pleading for water with no family member beside him and, at that moment, no one attending to him.

“Then Eitan whispered something even more disturbing to his brother. According to Dovid, Eitan told him that when the staff turned him over in bed, they did it brutally, ‘like a sardine,’ in Eitan’s own words, and his head was slammed against the bed. Those are the words Eitan himself told his brother.

“I am not prepared to let this pass.

“And when Dovid cried out over what he was seeing, instead of someone stopping to ask the obvious question—what happened here, and why is a wounded soldier begging for help?—security was called to deal with Dovid, who had entered the ward to check on his brother. We also tried to involve the IDF’s casualty assistance unit. There was no representative available to the family.

“And there is something else here that especially outrages me. When a terrorist or security detainee is hospitalized, the State of Israel assigns security guards, among other reasons, to ensure that no harm comes to him during his hospitalization. Yet here, four IDF soldiers who were seriously wounded in combat in Lebanon were left behind locked doors after their families were sent outside. There was no IDF representative there for them, while, according to the family’s account, the entire shift spoke Arabic. We know how to assign guards to terrorists. Who is protecting our soldiers?

“I am not claiming that every Arabic-speaking staff member poses a danger. Certainly not. But in the reality of war, when wounded and helpless soldiers are hospitalized after combat, the IDF’s responsibility toward them does not end the moment the helicopter lands at the hospital. The IDF must ensure that they are protected, cared for, and that there is a military representative available for their families.

“So I ask: Who is responsible for this failure? Who is responsible for the fact that the families of four seriously wounded soldiers found themselves outside locked doors? Who was supposed to ensure that the soldiers received assistance at every moment? Who checked what was taking place behind those doors? And who from the IDF was supposed to be there for the soldiers and their families?

“I demand that Rambam Hospital’s administration and the IDF immediately launch a thorough investigation into this incident. I demand that all security camera footage from the ward and the surrounding hallways during the relevant hours be preserved immediately. I demand that investigators determine exactly who was on duty, why all the families were removed and the doors locked, what response Eitan received when he asked for water, how he was treated and moved in his bed, where the staff members were during those minutes, and who was responsible for the shift. I also demand an answer to a question that should not be feared: Was the fact that the entire staff on duty spoke Arabic completely unrelated to this incident, or is there something more that requires investigation? I am not presuming the answer.”

“I demand that the question be examined. Not every Arab staff member is responsible for what happened, and I am not casting suspicion on an entire community. But neither should the families of wounded soldiers be expected to ignore the situation or the concerns it raised. These four young men were not injured on a vacation. They were wounded as IDF soldiers in Lebanon while defending the State of Israel. When they are lying wounded, in pain, and helpless in an Israeli hospital, the State of Israel owes them one basic thing: to protect them. I expect an investigation and answers—not in a month, not after the security footage has been erased, but now.”

Following Shani’s publication of the incident on Sunday, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz ordered the IDF to carry out an urgent and thorough investigation into the incident.

“I view with great severity the testimonies that have been published regarding the treatment of wounded IDF soldiers at the hospital,” Katz said.

“Our heroic IDF soldiers, who were wounded while defending the State of Israel, deserve the most dedicated and highest-quality medical care, as well as respectful treatment for themselves and their families. If it is found that any staff member treated the wounded soldiers severely or inappropriately, it will not be overlooked. We will not allow anyone to treat IDF soldiers wounded while defending the country in this manner. We will demand answers, draw conclusions, and act to ensure that such an incident does not happen again.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said: “If the serious testimonies emerging from Rambam Hospital are accurate, this is a grave scandal that should concern every citizen of Israel. It is inconceivable that hospital employees would harass, humiliate, or mistreat wounded soldiers and the family members of fighters who risk their lives for the security of Israel’s citizens.

“These testimonies require an immediate, thorough investigation, without any whitewashing, including an examination of whether, in some cases, the conduct was motivated by nationalist hostility. Anyone who harms our soldiers and their families should know that there will be consequences.

“I expect Rambam Hospital’s administration and the Health Ministry to investigate these allegations thoroughly and act firmly if they are found to be true.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)