The medical power of the IDF was in full swing on Monday night to save the life of a Palestinian baby who was born at a checkpoint.
idf saves palestinian baby at checkpoint
Seargeant Gilad Nesher

The call, stating that a 27 year-old Palestinian woman, who lives south of Jericho, was about to give birth initially came in around 2AM at which point the IDF sent a group of medics as well as Lieutenant Colonel Shalom Eisner to go assess the scene and provide medical assistance to the woman. Upon their arrival, they discovered that the woman was in an area which could not be reached via car.

Despite this, the soldiers managed to get the mother to a military ambulance, upon which they realized that she was in an advanced state of birth, and there was no time to move her before the baby arrived.

They helped the mother through labor, and after the baby was born, it became apparent that he had difficulty breathing. The IDF paramedic performed a successful resuscitation and a rescue unit of the IAF appeared just after CPR was administered to the newborn. A doctor in the unit helped to stabilize the mother and child before an IAF helicopter flew the two to the Hadassah En Kerem hospital in Jerusalem.

Both are in stable condition.

Sergeant Gilad Nesher, the paramedic who resuscitated the baby said to YNet: "There is great satisfaction to life."

The mother, Shirin Mohammed Salmin spoke to YNet, and told them her version of the special events that took place.

"It all started in the evening, I went to bed, and I had pain that kept increasing... So my family called an ambulance, but because of the rain it could not get to our house [which is] located at the top of the mountain. So we called for an Israeli ambulance, but it did not get through either, so my family finally took me to the road. There we met soldiers in army ambulance.... in the army ambulance I was alone, my mother and family did not come with me, so I was scared. But the [IDF] soldiers reassured me during the trip. At one point I felt the baby actually coming out, and the soldiers covered me with a blanket and helped me give birth. When the baby came out, the soldier smiled at me and at him, and asked me to talk to my son to calm him down. They gave me the baby and let me nurse him."

"I would like to thank the soldiers who helped me a lot and I wish them health."