The nightmare of every medic happened to Adham Safadi, 50, just over two weeks ago when he identified his 12-year-old daughter Finis among the bodies of 12 children and teenagers murdered in the massacre carried out by Hezbollah in the rocket strike on Majdal Shams.
"As soon as I entered the field, I saw my daughter and her friend lying on the ground. I looked at her; her body was intact, but she had suffered a head injury that left her no chance. I bent toward her, placed my hand on her chest, and asked her to forgive me," he told Ynet.
On that Saturday evening, Hezbollah terrorists fired a Falaq-1 missile with a warhead weighing about 50 kg, hitting the soccer field in Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights. The powerful explosion killed 12 children and teenagers.
Adham Safadi shared about his tremendous loss as a father and as a medic. "I have been a senior medic at Magen David Adom for 17 years. What haven't I seen? I've seen it all, but who could have imagined seeing my own daughter in a situation where even I, as a senior medic, could not save her," he said.
Safadi, a father of two, one of whom was murdered, describes the joyful morning before the tragedy. "Saturday is my day of rest. I was at home with my wife and daughters, and around noon, I went to a wedding that took place in Majdal." At 5:00 p.m., he returned home and saw Finis in an Arsenal jersey and her friend in a Germany jersey in the yard. "I asked where they were going because the game was scheduled for 6:00 p.m."
Finis replied that they would take a walk, eat something at a restaurant near the field, and then go play.
"Like any father in Israel, especially since the war, I told her to take care of herself and to call me if she needed anything. Finis was a sporty child, training in soccer and tennis. Her sister plays tennis," he said proudly.
According to Adham, the girls left the house in high spirits, and he joined his wife and their 15-year-old daughter to watch television together. "Suddenly, I received alerts on my phone for sirens in Kiryat Shmona and then closer to us, sirens in the kibbutzim Snir, Dafna and Neve Ativ right next to us. But nothing happened until a powerful explosion shook our house and the entire village. There was a weak siren."
He went to the window overlooking the soccer field and saw black smoke. "I don’t understand why my memory froze at 6:18 p.m. when I ran from the house with my wife and daughter to search for Finis and bring her home."
Joint funeral for the murdered Druze children
(Video: Avihu Shapira)
The soccer field is part of a complex that includes a playground, so it was initially unclear which section was hit. "I ran like a madman and within less than a minute, I was there. Outside the field, I noticed two burned bodies. All the villagers arrived to search for their family members, and cries of injured people were heard from everywhere." He collected himself and entered the field, his eyes searching for his daughter. "I saw children lying on the ground but could not find her. My wife called her cell phone with no answer, until I saw her lying on the grass in Arsenal gear, and her friend in Germany gear – and both were dead."
The chaos on the field grew louder. The cries of parents in shock were deafening, and from every corner, he was called for help. "We are a small village; everyone knows each other and what they do, so they knew I worked at MDA." The parental dilemma of whether to stay by his daughter’s body or the professional dilemma of whether to leave her and quickly provide help to those who could still be saved was resolved when an MDA staff member joined him. "I told him my daughter was killed and asked him to stay by her side while I went to treat the injured," he said.
"He took off his shirt and, at my request, covered the girl’s head with it. I reached an injured child whose brother was killed in the event. Soldiers gave me a tourniquet because I had nothing, I was without equipment. I applied the tourniquet to the child's arm and managed to save his life, but not the life of the child who lay next to him with a severe abdominal injury, without a pulse and not breathing," he added.
The family came to say goodbye to Finis and then returned somberly to their home to inform their families. "Last Sunday, we held a joint funeral for the children, and our hearts broke as their friends, children themselves, laid wreaths. What can I say? In every city and village in the world, children play with a ball. Protect their innocence and do not murder them."