A young woman in Kfar Azza managed to save her father’s life by using a phone charging cable as a tourniquet during the massacre carried out by Hamas terrorists on October 7.
Around 7 a.m. the Yatzkan family understood that something was wrong.
"We had never seen so many rockets," Gili recalled.
They had sought refuge in their shelter, tuning into the news to stay updated.
“Suddenly, we heard 50-60 terrorists around the house, shouting in Arabic,” she said. “I hushed our dog to prevent him from barking."
However, the terrorists broke into the home, hurling grenades and firing indiscriminately. They approached the shelter, and Gili’s father Erez struggled to keep them from opening the door.
Then, the terrorists attached an explosive device to the door, and Erez took the full force of the blast to shield his family.
"We heard an explosion, and my father's hands were injured. He saved our lives," Gili shared. "The door slammed shut and locked. The terrorists abruptly left, perhaps believing we were dead."
Gili quickly realized she needed to stop the bleeding to save her father's life.
"I grabbed a cellphone charger and fashioned a tourniquet for one of my dad's hands. I searched for another tourniquet, found an old phone, and used its cable to create one for his other hand."
Amid the chaos, Gili attempted to find help for her father.
"It was a battle for his life. We sent messages asking for medical assistance,” she said.
Some terrorists continued to patrol outside the family's house as gunfire persisted.
"I didn't allow fear to consume me," Gili continued. "I was solely focused on saving my dad."
Speaking with the rescue forces and MDA, she learned that entering their community was impossible.
After more than two hours, she heard voices from outside and spotted some soldiers from the Golani Brigade. "I screamed at them to come assist my father. They provided a tourniquet and proceeded to engage the terrorists."
At that point, some people from the neighboring kibbutz had arrived to help.
“They entered through a window to watch over us. For six hours, we cared for dad. I went out to prepare an IV for him and I saw the house was riddled with bullet holes, and we were covered in blood. I administered antibiotics and noticed my dad was losing blood. My mother and I told him, 'You saved us.'”
During a particularly harrowing moment, when she believed the worst was imminent, Gili asked her siblings to come and say their goodbyes. "I told Dad, 'If you feel you can't hold on, just let me know, and I'll understand.'
"You have to get me out of here," the man asked a little later.
Looking for help
When Gili opened the window, she spotted Israeli soldiers. Her father was evacuated to the house of another kibbutz member trained as a medic, where her father received some treatment.
Soldiers then escorted the man and Gili’s mother towards the kibbutz gate. Along the way, terrorists in a van opened fire on her parents and the soldiers. Some were wounded but displayed immense courage to get her father the medical attention he needed.
After 12 hours in the neighbor's shelter room, Gili received the news that her father was alive.
In the weeks following the incident, his condition stabilized, and he underwent a series of surgeries on his hands.