On Saturday morning, October 7, Andrey, a dedicated member of the motorcycle unit in the tactical brigade, received a call summoning him to the Gaza Strip. He had a vague sense that something significant was unfolding, but he could have never imagined the full extent of the emergency.
Andrey set off from his home in Yokneam on his motorcycle, joining his comrades who were also called up.
"We reached Kibbutz Nir Am, and the gate was closed,” he recalled. “We entered on foot.”
All of a sudden, the officers found themselves facing terrorists. The situation escalated.
Andrey suddenly heard gunshots and realized how close the danger was.
"I looked up and saw three of our fellow fighters under enemy fire," he said. "We were told that we had casualties. We rushed towards them, even as I spotted three more injured comrades in an open area."
In this critical moment, Andrey and his fellow soldiers knew that they had to rescue their wounded comrades.
While attempting to assist one of the injured fighters, they were under constant enemy fire.
"We took shelter behind a military vehicle and returned the fire," Andrey said. "I, along with two fellow fighters, moved swiftly to reach the wounded. We successfully retrieved them, despite the relentless fire of the terrorists."
Andrey took the weapon from one of the wounded and collected cartridges from his injured comrades as ammunition was running scarce.
"Amid the chaos, someone shouted that another soldier was critically injured in the head," Andrey recalled. "We quickly moved him inside of a security vehicle for urgent medical attention."
A heroic battle
For an hour, the fighters engaged in a fierce battle against the terrorists, managing to rescue four wounded individuals from the kibbutz before additional reinforcements arrived on the scene. Tragically, the battle claimed the life of Roman Gandel, an instructor in the tactical unit of the border police.
"All I could think of was saving our injured friends,” Andrey said. “We kept fighting, not dwelling on the circumstances."
Their heroic efforts of 13 fighters with limited ammunition thwarted the infiltration of 37 terrorists.