"Lightning strikes twice": They got married during "Am Klevia" - and their daughter was born during "Roar of the Lion"

Daniel Barda, an emergency medical technician at the MDA 101 dispatch center, and her husband, fellow MDA medic Maor, thought they had been through it all when they married during Operation "Am Klevia." At the time, he was treating the wounded in the field while she dispatched teams and provided medical guidance over the phone. Then came Operation "Roar of the Lion," during which their firstborn daughter was born.

The couple, who met at MDA about six years ago, had planned a large wedding, but the security situation had other ideas. Due to the operation, they married in a small ceremony at Daniel's parents' home in Nitzan. Since their close friends at MDA could not attend, the wedding was broadcast to the dispatch center, where colleagues watched via Zoom and cheered them on. The large celebration with hundreds of guests was postponed to a later date.

"The operation against Iran caught everyone by surprise. Like everyone else, our plans were put on hold, but the country needed us, and we were happy to be there for it and for all its citizens," the couple said regarding the postponement.

In the months that followed, they returned to their life-saving work at MDA, and Daniel became pregnant. By a remarkable coincidence, it was during Operation "Roar of the Lion" that Daniel and Maor welcomed their firstborn, Sol Rachel.

"They say lightning doesn't strike twice, but in our case, both our wedding and the birth of our firstborn took place during an emergency," the Barda couple shared. "At a time when the people of Israel are facing a challenging period, we were privileged to find a moment of joy that brings the greatest light. As medics at MDA, we know how important it is to find the good in the face of adversity, and we are overjoyed by the birth of our daughter."