Retired Major General Noam Tibon and his wife, Gali, embarked on a dangerous mission to save their son's family during Hamas' deadly attack on October 7th, 2023. The Tibons, armed with a pistol, jumped into their jeep and raced south to rescue their loved ones, facing gunfire and battling gunmen along the way. The family they were trying to save, Amir Tibon (a senior correspondent at Haaretz), his wife Miri Bernovsky-Tibon, and their two young daughters, were living in a kibbutz when the attack happened.

The day started at 6 a.m. when Miri heard the whistle of a rocket, prompting her to wake up Amir, and they rushed to the safe room in their house. The safe room, built out of strong concrete, was designed to withstand rocket and mortar attacks, and it was where they usually put their children to sleep at night. Inside the safe room, they heard gunfire and people speaking in Arabic. Video footage posted by Hamas showed the attackers shooting at the kibbutz, with one photo revealing the attackers leaning on Amir and Miri's house.

Amidst the chaos, Amir texted his colleagues at Haaretz, realizing that no help was coming, and called his father, Noam. He informed his father about the situation, describing how people in the kibbutz were crying for help. Noam, a retired major general who had commanded the Israeli paratroopers, and Gali immediately sprang into action, realizing that in that moment, they were on their own. They raced south in their jeep, with Gali driving at top speed and Noam contacting anyone who could assist while staying in touch with his son.

Their first encounter came when they were stopped at a checkpoint and told they couldn't proceed any further. Despite their pleas to the officers, they decided to bypass the checkpoint and continue their journey through the fields. At another checkpoint, they were once again stopped, but Noam firmly stated that they were going to save their son and granddaughters, even if it meant being shot at. As they drew closer to the kibbutz, they witnessed burning cars and bodies on the road. Then, a couple running towards them pleaded for help, and Noam and Gali knew they had to assist them.

The couple was Bar and Lior Matsner, who had been at the music festival massacre earlier that day. Their car was shot up and disabled, but they managed to escape and hide under piles of leaves. No one answered their calls for help, and they waited for hours until they saw the Tibons approaching in their jeep. Noam and Gali stopped and helped the Matsners reach a safe area, all while knowing that their own family was trapped in Nahal Oz.

Meanwhile, Amir and his family remained in the safe room, unable to contact anyone as their phone had died. They could hear gunfire and neighbors being taken captive. The Hamas militants were in control of the kibbutz, and Amir described their numbers as impossible to comprehend. They stayed in the safe room without electricity or food, with their two young daughters remaining remarkably quiet.

Noam and Gali's second rescue came when they encountered a group of soldiers on the road. One soldier joined them, and they continued towards the kibbutz, leaving Gali at a roadside shelter for safety. They witnessed an ambush on a military jeep, resulting in several soldiers being killed and injured. Noam and the soldier with him got out of the car and fought back. Two wounded soldiers needed immediate evacuation to a hospital, so Noam brought them to where Gali was waiting and helped transport them while the soldier turned back to rescue Amir.

Noam finally arrived at his son's house at around 4 p.m. after engaging in door-to-door combat for an hour. Amir described the emotional moment when they heard Noam knocking on the window and announcing his arrival. They had been stranded in the safe room for hours, completely unaware of Noam's whereabouts. The relief and tears were overwhelming as their family was finally reunited.

In the aftermath of the attack, the Tibon family is left with questions and frustrations. They question why the government, police, and military didn't respond to the massacre and why a grandfather had to come to their rescue. Amir describes it as the biggest failure in the history of Israel, with hundreds of civilians being massacred while no help arrived. They hope that the entire country will demand answers and accountability.

Israel Ziv, a retired Israeli army general, also found himself in the midst of the chaos that day. He had been on a bike ride when he received alarming calls about the rocket barrage and Hamas gunmen pouring across the border. He immediately raced home, put on his uniform, grabbed his pistol, and set out towards the battle zone in his white Audi. As he approached the Gaza border, he encountered Hamas attackers running and shooting at him.

Ziv, known for his critical views of the government and its policies, became an emblem of Israel's do-it-yourself spirit and the failure of its military and intelligence agencies. Many Israelis, including Ziv, expressed frustration with the paralyzed government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Despite his criticism, Ziv remained influential, holding teleconferences with industry leaders to raise funds for victims and their families. He also met with military and police officials to discuss strengthening civilian defense and walked into Israel's Defense Ministry for secret meetings on national security.

In the wake of the attack, public faith in the military has significantly diminished, leading to discussions about arming civilians. The government announced the purchase of 10,000 assault rifles and bulletproof vests for civilians, and Ziv took it upon himself to rebuild community defense squads, particularly in the Gaza border area. He received requests for weapons and a system to protect civilians, and he assured them that efforts were.