Rescue parents to visit Australia
At Nahal Oz, Noam fought off Hamas terrorists to rescue Amir, his wife Miri and their two young children, and others.
More than 500 days later, Noam and Gali Tibon, whose rescue dash to Israel’s stricken south on October 7, 2023, inspired the Jewish world and beyond, are philosophical about their response on that horrific day.
Speaking to The AJN from Israel, the retired IDF major-general and his wife, who will visit Australia for the UIA Progressive Appeal, were alerted to the mayhem at Kibbutz Nahal Oz by a text from their son Amir. Defying highway checkpoints, they sped from Tel Aviv to Nahal Oz, past burning cars and bodies.
At Nahal Oz, Noam fought off Hamas terrorists to rescue Amir, his wife Miri and their two young children, and others. Their bravery is captured in Amir’s book, The Gates of Gaza.
Amir and Miri are slowly recovering. As for the two infant grandchildren, Noam said, “We hope that they were too young to really understand. They’re enjoying their kindergarten and friends.
“I think that Amir and Miri, like most of the other couples with young kids, are really on the horn of a dilemma – whether it’s secure enough to come back and have kids here growing up so close to the border.”
Nahal Oz has become a sad, quiet kibbutz, with only 10 families, mostly elderly, and without children.
Noam and Gali have remained in contact with Lior and Bar Matsner, who fled the Nova festival and flagged down their car. They have also stayed in touch with wounded soldiers that Gali aided.
“We’ve become, a big, big family,” said Gali.
But they seem reluctant to dwell on that day. Instead, they are focused on the battle to bring home every hostage. Noam is adamant. “The strongest value in Israel – and this is what Gali and I did on that day – is you don’t leave anyone behind. You help your brothers and sisters, no matter what, even to risk your own life.
“And basically, the Israeli government right now has abandoned the hostages. This is not Israeli values. And this is a huge, huge struggle in which Gali and I are very, very involved.”
The Tibons are fervent about making Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accountable for oversights, long and short-term, that led to October 7.
They are also critical of the strategies after that day. Significantly, they believe Israel should have made the retrieval of all the hostages a priority and only then gone to war.
They are among a multitude of Israelis campaigning for an investigation – as Noam specified, “a state commission of inquiry, so people will respect its conclusions”.
For information on the UIA Progressive Appeal, visit: www.upj.org.au/uia-progressive-appeal/
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