WATCH: Hero of Kibbutz Kissufim repelled dozens of Hamas terrorists
Regular Israeli citizens became heroes in the battle against Hamas invaders
Once, seemingly a lifetime ago, Shai Asher was a humble husband, father and high-tech worker, living a normal life in the Gaza Strip's southern border region.
Despite being a member of the emergency team of Kibbutz Kissufim, by his own admission, he was no warrior. Rather, the job was a way to bolster his sense of self-worth, as well as his income.
Now, after the brutal Hamas assault on Saturday, Oct. 7, changed the reality, this has become Shai’s new life.
“Everything is like some military operation. I talk this way, I think this way, I sleep and eat this way. I’m still in war mode,” Shai told Israel’s Channel 12 news.
Shai and his close friend Sa’ar, two of the three members of the kibbutz emergency team, tried to reach the team commander Roni but ran into the terrorists immediately after stepping out the door.
They continued to battle overwhelming numbers of terrorists for hours until Israel Defense Forces reinforcements arrived and helped reconquer the kibbutz.
Later, they found out that Roni had been trapped in his bunker, together with his family. He had held the bunker door shut with his bare hands, for hours, until rescuers came.
Nine members of the kibbutz, including Shai’s friend and colleague on the emergency team Sa’ar, as well as eight Thai workers lost their lives in the battle.
Four members of the kibbutz were abducted by the terrorists who destroyed large parts of Kissufim.
The heroic efforts of Shai and Sa’ar and their team, humble citizens who did their duty when called upon, saved the whole community from a larger catastrophe.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
