"I Saw the Terrorist Cell, But I Didn't Run; I Knew I Had a Duty"

When asked how she's doing, Tali Hadad replies with a smile: "Everything's okay now, I'm at Ichilov Hospital with my son, Itamar. We're hoping things will improve and we'll be able to move to rehabilitation."

But when asked about what happened last Shabbat, her tone turns serious, and it's clear the trauma hasn't faded. "There are no words to describe what we went through. It felt like a horror movie. I still can't believe we were the heroes of this event, or that I evacuated the wounded under nonstop terrorist fire. I can't believe Itamar was wounded and escaped danger by a complete miracle. These are things that have no logical explanation; it's clear Hashem watched over us."

Omer Fichman / Flash90)

"Go Save Lives"

It all started at six-thirty in the morning when they were at their home in Ofakim. "We woke up to the sound of an alarm," Tali describes, "and immediately afterwards heard a helicopter over the house, then bursts of gunfire. Since Itamar is an army soldier who had just finished a senior officer's course, he recognized the sounds of the weapons and immediately told me: 'This isn't criminal, it's security-related, mom.' He didn't think twice, he went to another room and brought his personal weapon, preparing to leave the house and run to the shooting scene. Before leaving, he asked for my permission, and I told him: 'Go there as quickly as possible; that's what you were trained for, go save lives.'"

Tali emphasizes that the sounds of gunfire were very close to their home, but they never imagined the horror unfolding outside, believing that a terrorist group had holed up in a nearby playground and was spraying gunfire at anyone who passed through the area. "That's why, without too much thought, I decided to go to the area to see if I could help, and my 18-year-old daughter joined me. We both ran, still in pajamas, to the area from which we heard the shots, and suddenly saw them with our own eyes – a large group of terrorists barricaded in the park, firing in all directions in a circular pattern. We saw them hitting passersby. I shouted to my daughter to run back home, knock on the door of a family we know that doesn’t have a fortified room and invite them to our house. In the meantime, I continued to look at the terrorist cell walking with their guns raised toward a block of buildings. They shot there and did what they did, and then moved to another block where I knew my son had entered earlier."

What thoughts go through your head at such a time?

"Honestly, the head doesn’t think, it's just shocked at the thought that there are no security forces in the area, everything was empty and desolate. Only one police car arrived and drove away in complete silence. I even think the officers didn’t understand what was happening, but I knew a shootout was taking place inside that building."

Do you realize at that time that you’re in mortal danger?

"Although in reality I was in mortal danger, it didn't cross my mind. I didn’t think about it. I just began to understand that there were certainly injured people and no rescue forces to provide assistance, and very quickly I realized this was the moment I could help and evacuate the wounded in my car."

Miracles from Heaven

Tali continues to describe what happened: "At that time, there were other civilians who arrived with guns; they broke into buildings, and a gunfight began there. Police forces also arrived, and smoke began to rise from the buildings, with calls from people about injuries and fatalities. The battle was at its peak, and all at once, I realized this was the time to bring my car to evacuate the injured, who would certainly be taken out of the buildings soon, as it was clear they were wounded and there wasn’t even one ambulance in the area."

(Photo: Erik Marmor / Flash90)

"At that moment, I broke into the fastest run of my life, when halfway I felt I couldn't continue. Then I noticed a local resident coming out of the alleys with a gun. I handed him my car keys and asked him: 'Go bring my car here so I can start the evacuation.' Within a minute, the car was with me. Just as I arrived in the area of the buildings, they brought out Itamar. I saw he was injured and quickly loaded him into the car with other wounded people. I drove them quickly to the MDA station at the entrance to the city, a drive that usually lasts no less than fifteen minutes, and this time ended in five minutes. As soon as I dropped them off, they were evacuated by ambulance to Soroka. I returned to the scene to load more injured. On the way, I met a guy who asked me to give him Itamar’s weapon. He also said he was a fighter in the Duvdevan unit and begged me to give him the gun to fight. I handed it to him, and unfortunately, it turned out that this young man was killed in the attack. In the meantime, I loaded more injured into the car, again took them to the MDA, and when I returned, I saw there were ambulances, so I realized I had finished my duty and could go to my son at Soroka. He was already post-surgery, later transferred to Ichilov, and I've been with him ever since, not leaving his side until he fully recovers, with Hashem’s help."

Incidentally, Tali notes that during the entire event, her Itamar experienced a great miracle. When he was injured by four bullets, he realized he could no longer fight and sought to hide. He knocked on doors in the building, but no one opened, seeing him with a weapon, fearing he was a terrorist. "Itamar is a smart child, so he hid the weapon and moved between the sukkahs until he reached another building. There, he knocked on another door and convinced the household members he was a native of Ofakim, mentioning various places in the city until they were convinced and opened the door. He instructed the household on how to make him a tourniquet, effectively treating himself until they told him help and evacuation were there, and they took him out of the house. They never guessed the one evacuating him was his mother."

Where do these strengths come from? How do you explain not losing your composure?

"Honestly, I have no idea, but one thing is sure – I'm not a hero. Although by nature I'm a calm person and not a coward, it’s not that I acted out of a philosophy to save lives and sacrifice myself for others. My judgment was simple – I saw there was a horrific event and thought about my role as a civilian without a weapon. I immediately understood I couldn’t kill terrorists, but I could evacuate the wounded, and since there was no one else there to do it, it was clear that’s what I needed to do."

In conclusion, Tali asks that we pray for the full recovery of Itamar Yitzhak David son of Tali. "We now hope that Itamar recovers from his injury and returns to his strength so that he can continue to fight for the people of Israel."