Matanel Sharabi and Hanna Shechter, both EMTs with Magen David Adom, have spent the last three years racing toward danger together, saving lives under unimaginable conditions. But their journey began long before that, as teenagers in MDA's youth volunteer program, where they trained to become the next generation of first responders.
MDA has long been a training ground for young Israelis who want to serve their communities. The organization currently has over 15,000 teen volunteers, many of whom go on to become medics, paramedics, or even doctors. For Matanel and Hanna, it was also the place where they would unknowingly meet their future spouse.
Three years ago, Hanna moved to Beit Shemesh and joined the local MDA station. She and Matanel were paired together on shifts, responding to car accidents, terror attacks, heart attacks, and emergency births. The pressure was relentless, the stakes impossibly high but through it all, they found strength in each other.
"We've been through so much together," Matanel said. "Some of the hardest, darkest moments you can imagine – but also moments of pure joy. We always had each other's backs."
Life, death, and love in the ambulance
Two weeks ago, Matanel and Hanna experienced a call unlike any other. As they sped through the streets of Beit Shemesh, sirens blaring, they weren't responding to a terror attack or a car crash – they were about to bring new life into the world.
Inside the ambulance, they helped deliver a set of twins, ensuring that both babies arrived safely into their parents' arms.
"That was an incredible moment," Hanna recalled. "So much of our work is about saving people from tragedy, but this… this was hope. This was the future."
Together, they've performed CPR on critically ill patients, fought to save lives under missile attacks, and seen devastation up close. Through it all, their bond only grew stronger.
"The work we do is incredibly intense," Hanna said. "We've held each other up through exhaustion, fear, and heartbreak. It's not just about love – it's about survival."
A future built on service
Now, the couple is engaged, ready to build a life together with the same unshakable dedication that brought them together in the first place. But their mission doesn't stop with marriage. "We met saving lives," Matanel said. "And now, we get to build a life together."
Even after they tie the knot, Matanel and Hanna plan to continue volunteering as EMTs, rushing to save lives just as they always have. And one day, they hope their own future children will join MDA's youth volunteer program, just like they did.
"We dream of the day we can volunteer as a family," Matanel said. "Maybe one day, our children will be on shifts with us, saving lives together."
