The Knesset hosted 12 members of Israel’s security forces on Wednesday, in an event where they told their stories from Hamas’s massacre on October 7.
The event was led by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Women Advancement and Gender Equality Committee chairwoman MK Pnina Tamano-Shata, Foreign and Security Committee chairman MK Yuli Edelstein, and National Security Committee chairman MK Zvika Fogel.
Ohana opened the event with a moment of silence for the more than 1,600 civilians, soldiers, and police officers who were killed on October 7 and in the ensuing war.
Edelstein told the guests of honor that they prevented many more people being killed on October 7, and that while they may not have set out to inspire, many were inspired by their heroism.
Tamano-Shata highlighted the female soldiers who fought to get into combat roles and have taken a key role in the war since Hamas began its massive attack on Israel.
Fogel told the security forces present that they were the light that would expel the darkness of the attack and the war.
Air Force pilots Maj. L and Capt. M.
L talked about an evacuation her team handled from inside Gaza. She later learned that her cousin was in Gaza fighting and that he had also been part of that evacuation operation.
“I realised then that I’m part of a chain of command. It’s not just me saving these people’s lives, and I’ve always known that,” she said.
M comes from a big Be'eri family, and she lost relatives on October 7. She told the attendees that her strength comes from continuing to fight.
St.-Sgt. A and ? Y:
The two reserve soldiers spent the day fighting down South and at the Urim base.
They also saved a hostage in Be'eri where she was being held by terrorists who approached them.
Supt. Moran Teggi from Ofakim:
Teggi was ordered to take command of the operations in Ofakim. She said that if not for all the people who fought the terrorists, they would have gotten much further than they did.
Teggi and her fellow police officers had to fight through losing friends and colleagues, and she said she broke after hearing that one of her officers was killed, but had to get herself together to keep going.
Capt. Karni Gez:
Gez serves in a women’s artillery unit, and her unit’s three tanks were utilized in multiple fights throughout October 7.
“We spared no effort,” she said. “We did whatever we had to do to defend our home.”
Cmdr. Tomer Eldar from Border Police:
Eldar got reports and made his way to Sderot. The district commander told him he was injured and instructed him to go to the Sderot police station which was later collapsed on top of the terrorists. A small group, including Eldar, stormed the station under fire. They were in a firefight with terrorists for two hours under a rain of bullets and grenades.
Asst.-Ch. Amir Cohen:
Cohen talked about the essential nature of timing during October 7. He told those present that if the terrorists were faced by security forces any later, they would have been much harder to stop. He also said that if the Re’im rave was shut down any later, the casualties there would have been much worse.
He ended by calling for Israel Police representation in every military meeting regarding Israel’s security.
Ch.-Insp. Nevo Ben-Dayan from Border Police:
Ben-Dayan and his unit fought for four hours in the kibbutzim in the South on October 7. He later found out his uncle had been killed in Sderot.
Supt. Shifra Buchris from Border Police:
Buchris and her team started out fighting in the South, but when they got to the Urim gas station, a civilian asked them to save his friend from the Re’im rave, and they spent the rest of the day saving people from the area.
Sgt. Yonatan Ohana:
Ohana was told that he wasn’t going into Gaza with his platoon. A few days later, his entire platoon except one soldier was killed. Soon after he was allowed to go into Gaza as part of a different platoon. While there, he was wounded by shrapnel from an RPG and continued to fight through his injuries.
Lt.-Col. Eran Masas:
Masas saved some of the revelers from the Re’im rave. He also collected the bodies of victims to put them all together so that the terrorists wouldn’t be able to abduct them.
The reserve officer was choked up as he delivered his testimony via a letter to God in which he spoke of his pain, despair, and sources of hope in the last two months.
Noam Maor, member of Beeri’s emergency response team:
Maor talked about how they didn’t have enough warning to prepare for the terrorists and his difficulties of faith in the army after his kibbutz spent eight hours fighting for their lives while being murdered and abducted without military help.
Oz Davidian and Rami Davidian:
Rami was asked to go pick up a friend’s son from Re’im. When he got there, he saw thousands of revelers running for their lives. When he realised what was happening, he spent the day saving people from the rave.
In one rescue attempt, he found the woman he was looking for being held by six terrorists and convinced them to let her go by pretending to be a Muslim.
Oz also saved 120 people from the rave. While telling his story, he cried for those he didn’t manage to save.
“Many say I’m a hero,” he said. “But I never asked to be a hero.”
The event ended with a Hanukkah candle lighting ceremony.