Enemy from within: Rats bit soldiers sleeping in a tent in the north until they bled.

August 20, 2024   

Rats bit two soldiers to death in a tent at the Amiad base in the Upper Galilee last night (Monday). According to a report by Yair Kraus in Ynet, it was only about eight hours later that the soldiers were evacuated by the army to receive medical treatment at the Safed Medical Center, where they were vaccinated against rabies. The unusual incident occurred early in the morning, when a group of soldiers were camping in a tent at the military base. Two of the soldiers woke up in a panic with their faces covered in blood. They told their friends that rats "tried to eat them." One soldier was injured in his ear and another soldier was bitten in the nose. Dr. Lilach Varsano, trauma coordinator at the Ziv Medical Center in Safed: "The young men arrived at our hospital this morning in a mild condition, and after thorough disinfection, we gave them, according to the Ministry of Health's guidelines, an active vaccine and a passive vaccine to protect against rabies." She explained that, in addition to continuing antibiotic treatment, the soldiers will be required to come to the Ministry of Health office in three days and receive additional vaccine injections to prevent the incurable disease rabies. "Since October 7, we have often seen injuries in soldiers from mice and rats and animals that come into contact with them," Dr. Varsano noted. Rats, like other rodents, can be dangerous because they are potential carriers of infectious diseases, including rabies. A parent of one of the soldiers from the military unit told Ynet: "The soldiers were literally eaten by rats. It's shocking and shameful." He described that his son did not want to share and expand on the details of the incident, but as the parent of a young soldier, he expects such cases to not occur. "The pictures I saw this morning of soldiers with bloody faces make me ashamed of the army's inability to protect what is most precious to us." He said, "As parents of a soldier in the field, our only concern is the hostile activity of our enemies. It never occurred to me for a moment that my son could be harmed or be in danger because the army does not provide him with basic hygiene conditions." The IDF Spokesperson's Office said that after receiving medical treatment, the soldiers were released from the hospital. The IDF notes that "pest control was carried out in the residential area last month, and it will be renewed during the coming week.".