From Survival to Service: IDF Hero’s Quick Response

In a remarkable act, furloughed soldier Yoav Sheli arrives at Kibbutz Be’eri, thwarting dozens of invading Hamas terrorists.

By Batya Jerenberg

Yoav Sheli, an active-duty combat soldier on furlough is another Israeli hero whose story is making the rounds online, after he escaped from a dance rave near Kibbutz Re’im on Saturday where Hamas terrorists murdered hundreds and went straight to a nearby kibbutz to defend it against the invaders.

When the shooting began early on the first morning of the war, Sheli and three friends, who had danced the night away, immediately understood what was happening.

Having a friend in Kibbutz Be’eri a few kilometers away, he led the small group to the community.

At the entrance, they saw a group of terrorists and ducked behind an overturned car.

Sheli then saw the car’s driver inside, dead, but with a weapon in his hand. He grabbed the gun, signed to his friends to follow him, and they snuck into the apartment of the friend, who was home.

The friend had a number of uniforms at home, as he was a soldier himself, and they all changed clothes so that when IDF reinforcements came they wouldn’t be mistaken for the enemy and shot by friendly fire.

The Be’eri resident had his personal weapon, and they found one more outside. They then made contact with a kibbutz member who was part of the local emergency squad, joined it on the spot, and started fighting the terrorists who had poured into the kibbutz.

The firefights were intense, and after only 15 minutes, only three of them were left.

They managed to kill another 20 terrorists, but Sheli realized they were vastly outnumbered. He led the men to a house – where there were terrorists holding residents hostage. His group quickly eliminated them and brought the civilians to the house’s safe room. Once they were secure, he and his comrades went outside every ten minutes to lead more civilians to safety in the house’s shelter, all the time while being under fire.

They took a Kalashnikov rifle off one of the dead terrorists and Sheli sent a kibbutz member to the roof of the house. From this vantage point, his comrade then liquidated another eight attackers.

After hours of fighting, they saw IDF soldiers from the elite Shaldag unit approaching. Recognizing one of them personally, Sheli contacted the commander and directed the force towards the house. When they arrived, he and his small squad joined them immediately and they fought shoulder to shoulder until the battle for Be’eri was won.