On October 7th Israel faced one of the darkest days in its modern history. In the days that followed, Eli Beer, the founder of United Hatzalah, appeared on the Meaningful People Podcast and stated that “as United Hatzalah we faced over 100 terrorists that were either caught or killed by our volunteers.”
United Hatzalah is one of more than a dozen Hatzalah organizations operating in Israel. These groups exist to deliver lifesaving medical care through networks of trained volunteers. They are known for answering calls quickly and often arriving at emergencies before ambulances. On October 7th, thousands of volunteers from many different organizations rushed toward danger to save lives. Their courage deserves respect.
Beer’s statement, however, sits uneasily with the public record. United Hatzalah is a medical NGO. Its volunteers are trained to provide emergency treatment, not to conduct combat operations. Some may also serve as reservists or soldiers, as Israel has a conscription army, but that does not make the organization itself a fighting force. To claim that United Hatzalah volunteers caught or killed more than 100 terrorists is extraordinary. No report from the IDF, the Israel Police, or other security agencies supports it, and no evidence has been offered.
This is not the first time Beer’s words have raised concern. He has previously described atrocities that were later proven false, including a brutal rape in Kfar Aza, babies found in ovens, and a baby cut from a woman’s stomach. None of these accounts survived scrutiny. Their collapse into fiction underscores the need for care when weighing this claim.
There is no need for embellishment. October 7th already revealed extraordinary bravery. Volunteers from across Israel, representing many different Hatzalah organizations, ran into chaos with only medical kits and conviction. Their heroism speaks for itself. To honor it properly requires accuracy, not invention.
