Chaos and Heroism: Harrowing Footage Emerges from Israeli Hospital on Oct. 7

Newly released security footage from inside Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Israel, offers a stark depiction of the chaos and resilience within the hospital on October 7, 2023, as it dealt with an unprecedented influx of casualties from the Hamas attack.

In the hours following the assault, the hospital, southern Israel's only Level 1 trauma center, became a scene of frantic activity. Doctors and nurses scrambled to treat hundreds of wounded individuals, including soldiers, civilians who had been at the Nova music festival, and even a heavily pregnant woman. The scale of the emergency far exceeded any scenario the hospital had prepared for.

Prof. Shlomi Codish, CEO of Clalit-Soroka Medical Center, described the scene as "evil beyond what you can comprehend." He noted that the hospital treated 674 wounded individuals in the first 24 hours, a figure more than five times the capacity of their previous largest mass-casualty drill, which was set at 300.

"The maximum number we practiced for was 300," Codish stated. "We do drills to 300, which is considered a fantastic number that we’ll never see."

The hospital's emergency protocols were activated swiftly. Soroka ordered 100 additional units of blood and summoned over 1,000 staff members before 8 a.m. on October 7.

Among the harrowing cases was a Bedouin Muslim woman, over 40 weeks pregnant, who was shot in the abdomen. Doctors were able to save her and deliver her baby during emergency surgery, but the infant died 14 hours later. Codish recounted another incident where soldiers brought in two infants found alive after their parents were killed nearby.

The footage, broadcast as part of an investigative program on Israeli public broadcaster KAN 11, documents the overwhelming nature of the events. In one clip, a Golani soldier named Noam, who sustained a severe leg injury, is rushed down a corridor. His father, Avraham, sees him and manages to kiss him before he is taken into surgery. Noam survived but lost his leg.

Soroka, a 1,200-bed hospital, was already near capacity when the attacks began. Administrators had to discharge existing patients or transfer them to other facilities, convert internal medicine wards into surgical units, and create intensive care areas in open spaces to accommodate the surge of wounded.

In the aftermath, hundreds of distraught relatives converged on the hospital searching for loved ones. By the morning of October 8, hospital staff had identified all unknown patients, but the search for missing individuals continued. Signs bearing photos of missing persons were posted throughout the hospital, a practice reminiscent of the post-9/11 era, according to Codish.

Eighteen people died at Soroka on October 7: 11 who arrived deceased and seven who succumbed to their injuries during treatment. "Every hour that went by, it became apparent that this is the worst we’ve ever seen," Codish reflected. "And then the next hour proved that it could be worse."