Since the beginning of the war, seven Israeli Defense Forces soldiers of the Druze community have fallen while battling Hamas terrorists. With a population of 150,000 in Israel, the Druze are an Arab minority who adhere to an esoteric branch of Shiite Islam and who have served in the IDF since the establishment of the Jewish state. 

Today, more than 80 percent of eligible Druze enlist, serving in intelligence, technological, combat, and other army units, while also serving in important positions in the public sphere. 

One 35-year-old member of the Druze community in northern Israel has been treating injured soldiers on the battlefield for the past two months. A commander in the IDF Medical Corps and an army doctor for many years, Dr. Shakiv said he was fully prepared going into the war against Hamas. “I will do whatever it takes to help our soldiers,” he told The New York Sun in an interview, requesting for security purposes that his full name not be used. “We undergo military and medical training throughout the year to prepare us for the medical situations that we are dealing with on the front right now.” 

The role of the IDF Medical Corps during Israel’s campaign against the Hamas terrorist regime is a critical one. From treating wounded soldiers and carrying out field operations to providing blood transfusions and stabilizing injuries, the members of this unit must be able to operate swiftly in all kinds of situations, including under heavy enemy fire. 

Dr. Shakiv, an army major who works as an orthopedic doctor in Nahariya, said that most of the injuries he has treated among the wounded IDF soldiers fighting against Hamas in Gaza have been shrapnel injuries. 

“One of the toughest cases we had was an injured IDF soldier who had a piece of shrapnel in his head. We were able to stabilize him just in time, before he was evacuated by helicopter and flown to the hospital where he received the treatment he needed to recover,” Dr. Shakiv, a division commander, said.

He said the paramedics, nurses, and doctors who make up his army unit are highly trained medical professionals who work in top Israeli hospitals. “We live in between two worlds,” Dr. Shakiv told the Sun. “There are soldiers out here who are doctors that manage medical wards in civilian life. They carry out scheduled surgeries in civilian hospitals and in the same week will treat wounded soldiers on site in the battlefield.”

Dr. Shakiv says he hasn’t been able to go to work since the beginning of the war, but the head of the orthopedic ward at the hospital where he is employed has been very supportive. “He understands how important it is that I am out here serving our country and treating our soldiers,” he added. 

Dr. Shakiv said his division has done more than provide medical attention to wounded IDF soldiers. 

“I treated a 3-year-old Gazan girl, who had gotten lost. Our soldiers gave her water and a place to sleep. She was injured in her feet so I treated her as well, before we transferred her over to the Red Crescent medical services,” he said.

“I am very proud to belong to the Israel Defense Forces, which is a strong army but at the same time, a humane army,” he added. 

Dr. Shakiv says he is also proud to be part of the Druze community: “All the Druze serve the state of Israel from a sense of mission and purpose. I appreciate the fact that I am both part of the Druze community and an IDF soldier.” 

The director general of the prime minister’s office, Yossi Shelley, recently visited with members of the Druze community in northern Israel, and paid a condolence call at the home of soldier Sufian Dagash, a 21-year-old combat engineer from the Druze village of Maghar who fell in battle in the Gaza Strip in early January. Mr. Shelley expressed his appreciation for the contribution of the Druze community and its efforts since the outbreak of the war, and also sent his condolences to all bereaved families.

“It was personally important for me to come here today. The Druze community is dear to our hearts and constitutes an integral part of Israeli society,” Mr. Shelley said.