When a four-year-old child goes missing, every minute matters.

On Thursday, United Hatzalah teams joined the search for a young boy, Yuval Kogan, who disappeared in the area of Ashkelon’s nature reserve. United Hatzalah volunteers worked through the night alongside the Israel Police Search and Rescue.

United Hatzalah’s Drone Unit established a mobile command center and deployed a fleet of professional drones equipped with advanced technological capabilities. The drones allowed search teams to scan large areas of open and difficult terrain more quickly than would have been possible on foot alone.

A live mapping system showed which sections had already been searched and tracked the drones still operating in the air. This helped teams avoid covering the same areas twice and allowed search coordinators to direct resources to locations that still required attention.

“Just like in any emergency situation, every minute matters when a young child is mission,” said United Hatzalah Founder and President Eli Beer. “Our thoughts are with the family and the dedicaed volunteers who are working nonstop to find Yuval.”

Technology is only one side of United Hatzalah. Nothing can replace the human side of emergency first response. The dedicated United Hatzalah volunteers searched the area on foot, while off-road vehicles were used to reach more remote parts of the terrain.

Throughout the night, volunteers continued searching from the air and on the ground, united by one goal: to help locate the missing child and return him safely to his family.