Shortly after the attack began, two helicopters landed in the fields, under fire, from which paratroopers from the 890th Battalion exited. One of the helicopters was hit by a missile in mid-air. After landing, the paratroopers fought the bombers, killing dozens of them and preventing them from entering Kfar Maimon.
A paratrooper fighters' helicopter hit by an anti-tank missile in the fields near Kfar Maimon. Photo: Tal Sigron
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The moshav's Ravshatz (Military Ongoing Security Coordinator), Ronen Cohen, wakes up to the sound of alarms and explosions and realizes this event is unusual. He contacts his deputy, Avreimi Kolodny, and instructs the local emergency team to order all residents to barricade themselves and lock the entrance to their homes
Ronen the Ravshatz and his deputy Avreimi arrive at the western side of the moshav fence. A few minutes pass, and they spot a vehicle speeding towards them beyond the fence. Cocked in their positions, they shout at the car to identify it and hear the response, “They shot at us.” Ronen and Avreimi realize that these festival attendants have escaped from the Nova Festival and bring them to a nearby house inside the moshav. At the same time, the Ravshatz sends a message to the emergency squad to prepare for activation. Later that day, dozens of more fugitives from the party will arrive in Kfar Maimon and find shelter in the moshav.
Ronen, the Ravshatz, activates the 14 members of the emergency squad. They are divided into lookout posts and patrols around the fences of the settlement and inside its perimeter with only five guns at hand. At the same time, Ronen asks the head of the local emergency team, Rivik Boim, to inform residents that they must remain closed in their homes because of an infiltration of terrorists into the area
The Ravshatz is informed that a “very complex” battle is occurring in the nearby kibbutz, Alumim. He asks the head of the emergency squad to inform residents that the emergency squad members are patrolling the moshav with weapons drawn and loaded and that residents should remain locked in their homes. “No one goes outside except for security squad members,” he stresses.
Terrorists reach the west side of the moshav fence and open fire at the four members of the emergency squad who were standing post, who return fire. Ronen informs via the security squad's WhatsApp group that they are being shot at and asks for reinforcements in their sector.
Ronen, the security coordinator, calls the divisional officer in charge of the moshav and asks for urgent assistance. She explains that there is no possibility of sending them reinforcements. Ronen realizes they are fighting and shouts at the emergency squad members: “We are on our own; every bullet must hit.” He updates the rest: “The army has said that it cannot provide weapons and that we should use what we got on; be strong in weak points... it's heartbreaking, but there is nothing to do; we will keep on being strong”
After about 15 minutes of battle waged between the Kfar Maimon emergency squad and the terrorists, two helicopters fly near the kibbutz, carrying dozens of fighters from the 890th Paratroopers Battalion. From above, the pilots noticed a large gathering of terrorists' motorcycles on a hill. They decide to land in the wheat field nearby, in the heart of a raging battle, to go out and fight them. Heavy fire from terrorists opens towards them as the fighters are dispersed on the ground by the first helicopter. An anti-tank missile hits the other helicopter, which makes an emergency landing when it catches fire. All the fighters in it manage to get off safely.
Dozens of terrorists emerge from the wadi and storm the paratrooper's unit with such intense fire that it shakes the surrounding eucalyptus trees. The fighters, moments after they had finished getting out of the helicopter and unloading equipment, wage a persistent battle and manage to kill about 60 terrorists who planned to infiltrate Kfar Maimon and the nearby village of Tushiya. The two pilots of the first helicopter, hit by the anti-aircraft missile, run to the second unharmed helicopter and are hit by machine-gun fire. While fighting on the ground, one of the officers is seriously injured in the neck.
After going up in flames due to a hit by an anti-tank missile, the helicopter from which the fighters were rescued explodes in the fields between Kibbutz Alumim and Kfar Maimon. Kibbutz Alumim's security camera manages to capture the moments of the explosion from afar.
While patrolling the fence, members of the emergency squad catch a terrorist, a member of the Islamic Jihad who participated in the raid and was trying to get into the moshav, wounded in his leg. Shin Bet (ISA) is alerted, and he is taken for interrogation
IDF forces first enter the moshav and begin patrolling between the houses. Residents are asked not to leave their homes yet.
Without prompting from the Local Emergency Team, some residents decide to evacuate from the moshav independently
In the absence of an orderly evacuation on behalf of the state, the council encourages residents to evacuate independently. They are dispersed from Moshav Tzipori in Lower Galilee to Eilat
Ronen Cohen, together with the other security coordinators, protests the lack of recognition of their status and the lawlessness on the part of the government, which did not provide them with proper funding and equipment: “It is clear to everyone that if the security coordinators and emergency squads had been equipped, this would not have happened - we would have been able to control the situation. Once you have one weapon in a kibbutz or moshav instead of 18 weapons, how can you protect it? Our friends were abandoned.”
Three weeks after the attack, some of the residents return to their homes on the moshav, mainly due to the need to return to work
Residents of Kfar Maimon return to their homes. By May 2024 almost all residents will resettle
המתחם האינטראקטיבי של מפת העוטף ב-7 באוקטובר 2023 נועד לתעד ולהנציח את האירועים שהתרחשו ביישובי עוטף עזה באמצעות תיעודים מזמן אמת, דקה אחר דקה.
הפרויקט בהליכי בנייה ותחקיר, בשלבים הבאים יתווספו נקודות רבות על המפה, לרבות בסיסי צה”ל, הרחבת אזורי המסיבות והדרכים המובילות לעוטף.
לפרטים נוספים וליצירת קשר לחצו כאן
אזהרה: התוכן מכיל תיאורים ותיעודים קשים לצפייה