On the morning of Black Saturday, a force of terrorists tried to infiltrate Kibbutz Nir Am from the back gate, while a force of Golani fighters together with the alert squad fought a fierce battle against them. At exactly the same time, terrorists tried to enter the kibbutz through another entrance, where Oren Elbaz, a policeman living in the kibbutz, was waiting for them, fighting them alone. During the battle, Oren managed to eliminate a terrorist who was already on the kibbutz fence and later fired at several other terrorists so that they would think they were facing a large force. As a result of his actions, the terrorists gave up trying to infiltrate the kibbutz from this entrance.
Ceremony in memory of the Southern District policemen who fell in the fighting near the Gaza Strip // Photo: Ilya Yegorov
Elbaz, 50, who serves in the police force in the cavalry unit, is a native of nearby Sderot and a few years ago built his home in an extension of Kibbutz Nir Am. He completed his military service as a soldier in Givati and was even wounded in clashes with terrorists. Elbaz woke up on the morning of October 7 and thought, like everyone else in the Gaza Strip, that this was more rocket fire from Gaza. "Towards 7:00 A.M. there was continuous shooting," he recalls, "I went outside and heard massive shooting."
Elbaz says, "A few minutes passed and I received a message that there were terrorists in Sderot. I understood that there was a different kind of event here. I took a bicycle and flew to the bunker, where the weapons of the alert squad were. There was a power outage and it was dark. I found an M-16, filled three magazines and went back to get the police car. I called the deputy chief of staff and told him that at the back gate there was a battle being waged by the army together with the alert squad.
"I told him that I would put the patrol car on the other side, towards Sapir College and Sderot, in order to deter terrorists who would not come from there, that they would think that there was a force waiting for them. I put the patrol car with Chakalka turned on between the two gates, which are about 700 meters apart, towards the college intersection. I'm with an M-16 and a pistol, waiting there in ambush to see if terrorists will come. Then the shooting begins to intensify, incessant shooting. I see cars hijacking RPGs. Qassam rockets are also being fired, but I had to stay in position."
Nir Am Kibbutz Gate (archive), photo: None
Oren recounted how at one point he spotted "a terrorist climbing the fence, with half his body already inside the kibbutz. I look and see someone wearing an IDF uniform and a ceramic vest, I was without a vest. I squint in his direction and shoot next to him. I didn't shoot him at first because of the uniform he was wearing. He moved and turned to me and fired a burst in my direction. The bullets went between my legs. I lay down and returned fire. The weapon was not reset. I cut him within range of a gun and hit him, he fell."
Elbaz continued to occupy the position to prevent infiltration attempts. "You are at the front alone, you and the terrorists. You realize that you don't have enough ammunition and you realize that you need to deter and less fight to prevent infiltration. Your family is on the kibbutz and you understand that you must prevent terrorists from entering."
Oren Elbaz with his wife at the hotel to which they were evacuated, photo: Yehoshua Yosef
Later, a group of terrorists approached. "I fired in their direction and eventually they left the area and moved toward Kibbutz Mafalsim. They thought there was force at the entrance to the kibbutz and gave up the attempt to infiltrate from that entrance. If I hadn't been there, I have no doubt that they would have infiltrated the kibbutz and who knows what the results would have been."
About four hours later, alone at the scene, a force from the Border Police tactical brigade arrived. "At 11:00 the first force arrived. They pointed their guns at me, thinking I was a terrorist. Luckily, they recognized me. They shouted at me why I was without a police hat. I told them: 'I didn't plan to fight.' I led them to the back gate, where the battle was taking place, and then returned to my position. The arrival of the tactical brigade decided the battle at the rear entrance." Nir Am is one of the few kibbutzim that the terrorists have not been able to penetrate.
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