Testimony Excerpt
Avi Kahn, IDF: “In the middle of the night, you don't see that there are forces around you”
The Full Testimony
Testimony of
Avi Kahn
Avi Kahn moved to Israel from Ohio. He is married with a small child and lives in Beit Shemesh. He served as a sharpshooter in the Israel Defense Forces and volunteers with United Hatzalah. On October 7, after hearing sirens and rockets, his commander told him, “This is the second Yom Kippur.” He said goodbye to his wife and rushed to his base, then was sent south into an active war zone.
About 100 soldiers marched toward a kibbutz in the dark; his platoon was second in line, and he stood at the front as a sharpshooter. Minutes in, he spotted a running man through his scope, identified him as a terrorist, and fired; others fired as well, and the man fell. Soon after, a terrorist hiding in the bushes opened fire but missed and was killed. In the youth dormitory area, they found destroyed homes and bodies while clearing houses one by one. At one point, operating without tank support, he prepared himself to die. They ultimately rescued about 50 civilians and got them onto a bus.
Place of the event:
Name:
Avi Kahn
Organization:
IDF
Language:
English
Credit:
Date: Nov 9, 2025
Photography: Charles Yacoub
Video Editing: Sharon Shochat
Content Editing: Ziva Hershkowitz
Other media
Channa Perri
Channa, age 71, was abducted from her home in Nirim early that morning, along with her son Nadav, both were in a medically complex condition.
Tamar Metzger
Tamar was in the shower on Shabat morning when she heard voices in the living room and Yoram, her husband, responding in Arabic. The bathroom door was yanked open, and she was grabbed and then dragged out from her house.
Eyal Dvori
Eyal Dvori, a member of Kibbutz Be'eri, headed the 12th grade cohort at Nofey HaBsor High School. On October 7, he and his family were abroad, following the events from afar, in horror and helplessness. A student from the cohort was murdered, and a teacher was kidnapped.
Maor Ben Yair
A group of friends went to Nova Festival to celebrate Maor's birthday. They had an extraordinarily fun time. At the 6:20, with the sunrise, there was a Red Alert.
Deborah Mintz
“Another couple of hours we would have been dead anyways”- Deborah Mintz on 7.10 in Nirim
Tamar Livyatan
From Tamar Livyatan's testimony: "I have a daughter and granddaughter here, and I am not leaving without them."
Judith Bdolach
From Judith Bdolach's testimony: "What should have been a calm and quiet work-out, turned into a nightmare"
