Lt. Col. (res.) Yonatan Bahat is a familiar face in the rehabilitation department of Hadassah Hospital. After almost a year there, he greets every staff member he encounters and offers encouraging words to fellow patients passing by. It’s a reflection of his deep connection to the world of war and recovery - a world that has shaped much of his life.
As a former combat officer, Yonatan went on to establish a company specializing in training emergency response organizations and military units worldwide. The company’s mission focuses on managing extreme scenarios, including mass casualty events and battlefield first aid.
"It's been years since I was discharged, but even beyond my reserve service, I never truly left the security world," he says. "Still, I never imagined my profession would come so close to saving my own life."
When war erupted, Yonatan, the deputy commander of the 646th Reserve Brigade, cut short a family vacation in Romania to return to Israel. "There wasn’t a seat on the flight, so I flew in the cockpit," he recalls. "I landed on October 8 and joined my brigade, which had just returned from the battles in Be'eri. After operations in Judea and Samaria, we joined the maneuver in Gaza. On January 8, I was gravely injured."
