2023-10-17 10:36:40
Israel
Noam (61) took his gun to save his son from Hamas
His son was in danger of dying. So Noam Tibon grabbed a pistol and set out to rescue him.
Updated17. October 2023, 12:36
The Israeli village of Nahal Os is just a few hundred meters from the border area. It was one of the villages attacked by Hamas.
imago images / Xinhua
Noam Tibon’s son also lived with his family in Nahal Oz.
The MirYam Institute
When former elite fighter Noam Tibon learned of Hamas’s incursion, he set out to rescue his son without hesitation.
Wikimedia/CC BY-SA
On October 7th, the terrorist organization Hamas invaded Israel.
Unwilling to rely on the Israeli military, Noam Tibon took fate into his own hands to save his family.
He grabbed a pistol and made his way to his son’s family.
Actually, it was thought that Israel’s borders with the Gaza Strip be well protected. That’s why when Noam Tibon heard fighter jets during his morning swim on the beach in Tel Aviv, he didn’t think much of it. However, after doing his laps and checking his phone, he understood that the roar of the fighter jets had a legitimate reason. “Dad, there are terrorists in the kibbutz,” his son Amir (34) wrote to him. The terrorist organization Hamas has crossed the borders and attacked civilians.
The former elite fighter in the Israeli military didn’t hesitate for a second: He drove home, grabbed a pistol and made his way to Kibbutz Nahal Oz, which is only a few hundred meters from the border area and is the home of his son and his family. “If there are terrorists in the kibbutz, it means that the security system has collapsed,” says Tibon. Israel’s forces could not stop Hamas, so he had to ensure the safety of his son and grandchildren himself.
He’s never been so scared
Noam Tibon is 61 years old and an experienced soldier. He has experience as a paratrooper in Lebanon and as a fighter in an elite counterterrorism unit. Still, he rarely felt as afraid as he did that morning: “I’ve often been in danger, but when you know that your granddaughters could be killed or kidnapped, it’s really scary,” he says. Before he left, he had instructed his son to barricade himself in the security room and, if possible, not to make a sound. But he didn’t know if his instructions would save her.
On the way south, Tibon and his wife saw the extent of the tragedy. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” says Tibon. And he has 35 years in the military under his belt. Israeli soldiers fought battles with terrorists in the middle of the street, bodies lay on the path and civilians ran towards them. “There were scenes that you otherwise only know from films,” Tibon continued. But he knew they were real and his son was in the middle of them.
“These men are heroes”
Although his son was in great danger, the couple collected the fleeing civilians and brought them to safety. His wife also looked after injured soldiers and took them to a hospital. Tibon, on the other hand, traveled alone towards his son’s family. On the way he came across an old military friend – he too had gone out alone to help the people in the south. Together they moved on to Nahal Oz, where they came across two military units that they joined.
By the time they got there, the fighting was already over. “It was very quiet,” says Tibon. «We went from house to house. We saw bodies of terrorists, civilians and Israeli soldiers.” Before he could check on his son’s well-being, he and the soldiers traveling with him first had to secure the corridor “to make sure that no one shoots us from behind.” At around 3 p.m. he finally reached his son’s house. There were five bodies of Hamas terrorists and an Israeli soldier lying in front of the house; the building itself was undamaged.
He went to the window and knocked. “Amir, it’s me, Dad!” His son was still alive and answered him. “I’m here,” he called. He and his two daughters were well and the family was united. “The men who fought with me are heroes,” summarizes Tibon.
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