The War Brought This Lone Soldier Back

Stand for Israel  |  March 12, 2024

Hannah Schwarcz served as a lone soldier from France, but had completed her service and was in New York on October 7. Because of Shabbat, she didn’t find out about the massacre until October 8, but was back serving for her unit by October 9, reports The Jerusalem Post:

On Oct. 7, Schwarcz was in New York. Since she observes Shabbat, she didn’t find out about what happened until she turned on her phone on October 8. By October 9, she was back in Israel, packed and ready to rejoin her unit.

She spent three months in the Gaza border area, taking care of soldiers who were wounded fighting in Gaza. At night, the members of her medical unit slept in one of the kibbutzim on the border or in a nearby field.

“When there are wounded soldiers, we have to be there in two minutes,” she explained about why they slept so close to the front…

“Just be open-minded and open about what’s [actually] happening. Israel is not what you think when you grow up. You have to understand that it’s a hard country. We are living in war every day. Every day is the war. Every day you have a terrorist attack,” she said.