Yaron Maor, a resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz, woke up at 6:30 a.m. to discover that Hamas terrorists had infiltrated the kibbutz. Initially, he sought refuge with his wife and children in the shelter. However, he soon realized that he had to confront the threat.
Yaron courageously left the shelter, set up an ambush, and bravely faced grenade attacks while eliminating the terrorists. He later returned to the shelter to find his family safe, but their house had been engulfed in flames.
In a conversation with Radio 103FM, he claimed that the IDF had abandoned the town, forcing the residents to defend themselves, as no terrorists were eliminated by the military.
"How severely was your community affected?"
"It's essential to emphasize that we are Kibbutz Nir Oz, sitting precisely between Kibbutz Magen and Kibbutz Nirim."
"So, you're situated between these two kibbutzim?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"In Kissufim area?"
"Yes."
"How many people were affected by the incident?"
"Out of a population of 450 in our kibbutz, 160 had to evacuate."
"Were there casualties?"
"Yes, there were kidnappings and fatalities."
"How many?"
"We don't know the numbers yet."
"In your kibbutz, out of 400, are they talking about around 100 casualties?"
"In those numbers, yes."
"In Kibbutz Nir Oz, the IDF did not engage the terrorists; they failed to eliminate a single one, even though there were hundreds."
Yaron Manor
"Can you describe the events that unfolded?"
"In Kibbutz Nir Oz, the IDF did not engage the terrorists; they failed to eliminate a single one, even though there were hundreds. Other kibbutzim may have faced a similar ordeal, but at least they had IDF troops that took action. The only ones who fought valiantly were the emergency standby squad and individuals with personal firearms or other means."
"Tell us about your experience."
"At 6:30 a.m., my wife and I dropped off our children at the kindergarten. Simultaneously, our elder daughter was staying with her grandmother in the kibbutz, along with her younger sister. At 7:15 a.m., we received a message about terrorists in the kibbutz wearing disguises near the clinic. Initially, we thought it was just another minor threat, and we were planning to leave the shelter in a few minutes. However, my wife urged me to fetch a firearm."
"At 9:00 a.m., messages started pouring in, pleading for help as the terrorists reached their homes. Some were injured, desperate for assistance, and there was no one to send. Many felt they had no choice but to leave to ensure their own survival. I decided to leave the shelter and, from the bathroom window, I spotted between 10 and 15 terrorists on our balcony. My instinct was to open fire, but I held back at the last moment, choosing instead to set up an ambush inside the house to confront anyone entering. Fortunately, I had a barricade, and they couldn't breach it. When one of the terrorists entered through a window and exposed himself, I approached and shot him twice at close range."
"Did you shoot him in the head?"
"Yes, and after that, the others yelled in Arabic - likely calling for another terrorist. Another fighter arrived, sprayed my house with gunfire while throwing a grenade at me. I swiftly moved into an inner room, the parents' room, which had a shower. I took cover there as the grenade detonated. It took some time for me to recover, and then, after a few minutes, I ventured out of the corridor. I saw another terrorist inside my kitchen, and as he raised his head and noticed me, I advanced, firing two shots into his upper body. He fell, and the chaos continued outside. More fighters arrived, shooting at my house and launching another grenade in my direction. Once again, I sought refuge in the same spot, this time escaping the explosion. I emerged after some time, approximately an hour and a half later."
"So, you endured an hour and a half of constant attacks, including grenade explosions?"
"Yes, that's correct. Initially, when I peeked out of the window, after leaving the school, I noticed that they had vandalized my sukkah. It seemed important to them to destroy it. After the third grenade exploded in my vicinity and I sought refuge in the bathroom, they changed their tactics. They started approaching me from behind, and I didn't wait for them to enter the room this time. I emptied the last two rounds I had, which amounted to all my remaining ammunition."
"Did you manage to injure any of them?"
"Yes, I heard voices after the shots. That's when they came at me from behind. They believed I was already dead. Subsequently, a grenade was thrown into my room, and I quickly moved to the hallway of the shelter. The grenade exploded, and it took me a while to recover. Somehow, I ventured out towards the room, only to see a Molotov cocktail thrown at me. The mattress ignited, and I began to panic. At one point, I managed to regain control and thought, 'It's better if the house burns down, and I reach the shelter.' I returned to the shelter and shouted to my wife to open the door. She couldn't believe I was alive. After several minutes, she finally opened the door, and fortunately, the fire had been extinguished. An hour or two later, they returned to my house, fired shots at the shelter door from a distance, likely retrieved the terrorist's body, and then set the house ablaze."
"Weren't you affected by the fire while in the shelter?"
"I told my wife, 'We'll wait as long as we can.' We placed a towel at the door and decided to hold out as long as possible, fearing that if we tried to escape through a window, we'd be targeted. We endured until we could no longer stay inside. My wife told me, 'We have to leave.' I opened a window, and she helped our children out. As I stood on the windowsill, the police arrived."
"What time was it when the police arrived?"
"It was 1:40 p.m."
"At 6:30 a.m., you received the warning, and at 9:30 a.m., you left the shelter. You led the battle for an hour and a half until 11:00 a.m. Until 1:30 p.m., you were in the shelter when they were burning the house from the outside, and then you left."
"That's right. As I stood on the windowsill with the gun, the Israel Border Police unit approached me, heading towards the main door. He was convinced that I was a terrorist. All the laser sights were on me. I shouted, 'Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One,' [the Shema prayer] so that they would know I am Jewish. They still didn't believe it. The force commander grabbed my wife's hand and asked, 'Who is this?' She replied, 'My husband.' He inquired, 'What's his name?' She said, 'Yaron, leave him alone.' Only then was he convinced. He told me, 'Take us to Haim Perry; there's a terrorist there.' I said, 'Do you want me to take you? Leave two warriors here to protect my family, and I will guide you.' I then led them to safety. We reached Haim Perry's location, and there was a woman inside the shelter who reported that her husband had been abducted. At that time, they found my phone and sent a message asking for anyone hearing noises to let them know, but there were no terrorists left in the kibbutz."
"When this force arrived, were there no longer any terrorists in the kibbutz?"
"There were none. It's driving me crazy. There were quantities of them in the kibbutz."
"Were you in a combat unit?"
"I was in Givati. There are many other stories from the same time. My daughter was at my grandmother's, and my 70-year-old grandmother battled the terrorists for hours at the door. They shot at her, and the bullet penetrated the shelter, miraculously missing her. She confronted them, and my daughter told me, 'Come save us; Grandma can't hold on.' I replied, 'Those who leave get killed.' We were under attack, and our standby squad fought like lions. These were swarms of people."
"Can you sleep at night?"
"Not much, but I manage to get some sleep, yes."
"Do you have professionals helping you?"
"Yes, we are surrounded here, but even they can't fully comprehend such a situation."
"Will you return home?"
"It's a difficult question. I wish for Kibbutz Nir Oz to be rebuilt on the Gaza beach. This is the only compensation that would make me consider returning home."
"How many years have you lived in the kibbutz?"
"About 12 to 14 years."
"The part with 'Shema' is remarkable."
"That's what saved me. He recognized that I was Jewish. The timing was perfect. I felt like I had divine protection.
"Our fear isn't for now but for the weeks, months, even years to come. The kibbutz is scarred, and more than that, our spirits are scarred. If you haven't experienced it, you can't truly understand. We went through a massacre, and we were left to fend for ourselves. The IDF didn't come to our aid. Every morning, I tell my children, 'We were privileged to be soldiers, to grow up in the Land of Israel, with a country that will protect us.' That's how I was raised, and it was something taken for granted, but they abandoned us."
The Jerusalem Post and OneFamily are working together to help support the victims of the Hamas massacre and the soldiers of Israel who have been drafted to ensure that it never happens again.