On Saturday morning, October 7th, sirens were heard in Moshav Netiv Ha'Asara in the Gaza envelope, but not in the nearby Kibbutz Erez. Sagit Levy Galfarb, a resident of Kibbutz Erez, thought to herself: "How could it be? This was very strange."
Sagit is the head of the Community Resilience Team (Tzachi ) in the kibbutz, which is made up of people whose job it is to be responsible when there is a danger or threat to the kibbutz. When necessary, the team gathers in the room to make plans - that room is called the war room (Hamal), and from there they manage the dangerous situation until the problem is resolved.
When Sagit heard the wails of the sirens from the neighboring moshav, she had an ominous feeling in her stomach. "Is it better to trust a gut instinct," she asked herself, "or ignore it and act as if nothing is happening?"
The decision was quickly made. Sagit sent a message: "All members of the Tzachi team are asked to come to the Hamal, take weapons and radios and prepare for the possibility that we might be attacked. Everyone else should take shelter in the ‘safe room’ (Mamad), close your windows and lock the doors of your houses."
Suddenly, Ben and Mai, high school students from Moshav Ge’a, who worked at the coffee shop in the kibbutz, arrived at theHamal. "What should we do?" they asked Sagit, "Our home is far away."
"You will be with me," she replied.
And so Ben and Mai sat in the Hamal and saw how members of the Tzachi team took vests, shields and weapons and went out to defend the kibbutz. A few minutes later shots were heard near the fence. The terrorists tried to break into the kibbutz, but fortunately, thanks to Sagit, theTzachi team was waiting, armed and ready to defend the residents of the kibbutz.
Meanwhile, Ben and Mai sat alone in the corner of the room, scared. "I will take you to the ‘safe room’ in my house and you will stay with my family," said Sagit, "we will run across the grass to my house." And so they ran, under fire, while she protected them with her body.
Sagit continued to manage the protective force of Kibbutz Erez from within the Hamal. They succeeded in protecting the kibbutz. After everything was over, Ben and Mai bought a large bouquet of flowers for Sagit and came to thank her. "You are a hero," they told her, "you saved us and the entire kibbutz."
"I'm really not a hero," she insisted. "I only did what you would have done too. I followed my gut instinct."
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