On October 7, the people of the south were confronted with a harrowing reality. Thousands of terrorists breached the fence and launched a ruthless attack on anyone in their path. Much has been said about the vigilance and professionalism of the emergency response teams in the region, which prevented a greater disaster.
One remarkable tale of heroism centers around the emergency unit of Kibbutz Or HaNer, which thwarted the terrorists from infiltrating the neighboring Kibbutz Erez.
Or Hava, the military security coordinator of Kibbutz Erez, was in Jerusalem with his parents that fateful Shabbat.
'The entire area was painted in red'
"My wife woke me up, and I saw the entire area painted in red," he recounted, realizing that a dire incident was unfolding. Without hesitation, he contacted Amit Zarka, his deputy in charge of kibbutz security at the time, urgently requesting the standby squad's mobilization.
Hava, accompanied by his brother-in-law, Dan Goldstein, a military officer, raced back to the kibbutz, still unaware of the scale of the tragedy unfolding in the vicinity.
Zarka, Hava's deputy, informed him of the sounds of gunfire not far from the kibbutz. Hava continued to coordinate the response remotely.
"I called Ben Sadan, the former military security coordinator, and instructed him to join the unit," he said. Shortly after, Sadan reached the scene, and together with Zarka, they organized the standby squad into positions.
Zarka and Sadan ascended to a lookout point, where they spotted white vans near the back gate of the kibbutz.
Sadan promptly alerted the standby squad, and the operations room eventually confirmed the identity of the armed individuals as terrorists. The terrorists unleashed a barrage of heavy gunfire, including grenades, explosive charges, and sniper shots.
Simultaneously, the entire standby squad reached the area near the back gate to protect the kibbutz's residences.
Two of them took positions in front of the gate and remained pinned down in their defensive positions. Tragically, during the exchange, Amir Naim, a member of the standby squad, lost his life, while his comrade Danny Epstein sustained gunshot wounds.
'It was a matter of survival'
"At that moment, it was a matter of survival or defeat," Hava noted. Desperate for aid, Hava requested military assistance throughout the journey to the kibbutz but realized they were on their own.
The standby squad members urgently reported dwindling ammunition and begged for help. As a last resort, Hava reached out to his dear friend Yaniv Kastenbaum, the head of neighboring Kibbutz Or HaNer.
"I conveyed the dire situation to him—it was a fight for survival," he said. "I implored him to send reinforcements from his standby squad. He promptly assured me that three of his standby squad members were on their way, and additional reinforcements were being organized."
In the darkness, Hava, Kastenbaum and four others, reached Kibbutz Erez.
Upon arriving at Kibbutz Erez, they found three members of Kibbutz Or HaNer's standby squad already there.
"At that point, we had no knowledge of the terrorists' location or numbers, or whether they had infiltrated the kibbutz," Hava recounted. "We spoke with Sadan, who provided a situational update. I connected the members of Or HaNer's standby squad with Zarka and dispatched them to assist the two trapped squad members, who were injured but fighting on."
Meanwhile, Zarka spotted suspicious movement in the nearby bushes and deployed a drone. The drone imagery revealed a terrorist group attempting to encircle the kibbutz for infiltration.
"I realized we were facing another critical juncture. The terrorists placed a bomb at the eastern gate and detonated it."
Sadan and his team engaged the terrorists, preventing them from breaching the kibbutz.
At the same time, Zarka's squad and Kibbutz Or HaNer's team rescued the two besieged standby squad members amid intense gunfire.
"Some of the kibbutz residents arrived at the scene, and we directed the standby squad's deployment, conducting the battle from there with remarkable courage and composure," Hava described. "The injured were attended to by the kibbutz residents who volunteered to help."
Around 10:00, the standby squad successfully neutralized three terrorists, inflicting injuries on many others and forcing the remaining terrorists to retreat. The battle was won, and the kibbutz breathed a sigh of relief.
"The valor and selflessness of the Kibbutz Or HaNer standby squad saved Kibbutz Erez," Hava concluded.
Epstein, wounded in the battle, was discharged from the hospital. Another member of the squad remains hospitalized.
On a day when thousands of terrorists breached the fence and inflicted destruction, the standby squad of Kibbutz Or Haner emerged as unsung heroes, saving numerous lives.
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