In the thick of Palestinian terrorists’ unprecedented attacks on Israel, a retired Israeli veteran rushed to save his son’s family.
Retired Major General Noam Tibon of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described his harrowing experience to NBC News.
Tibon said he went “apartment by apartment, house by house” searching for terrorists as he made his way over to his son’s family’s house.
Retired Major General Noam Tibon of the IDF describes what it was like rushing to save his son and family in the heat of the Hamas invasion.
"He knew that I will come. This is my profession. Nobody, nobody, nobody can stop me," Tibon tells @LesterHoltNBC. pic.twitter.com/6UnSJeIY0w
— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) October 9, 2023
On the way, Tibon said he encountered bodies of terrorists in the kibbutz.
“When I came to the area of my son’s house, there were at least five bodies of terrorists and an Israeli soldier, brave Israeli soldier killed in this region,” Tibon said.
“What gave you hope that your son and his family would still be alive?” NBC anchor Lester Holt asked.
Tibon responded that he had instructed his son, “you have to be quiet, you have to be locked, trust me, I will come.”
“And he knew that I will come,” the Israeli veteran continued. “This is my profession. Nobody, nobody, nobody can stop me.”
When he reached his son’s family’s apartment, he knocked on the armored window of the family’s “safe” room.
“I said ‘Amir, it’s Father. It’s me, Noam. You can open,'” Tibon said.
Tibon’s son Amir has a wife and two daughters, and they live in Nahal Oz, a small community that borders Gaza. The younger Tibon is a correspondent for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
שנה טובה מהלב הפועם של קיבוץ נחל עוז, והמקום החשוב ביותר בעולם עבור הדור הצעיר במשפחתנו: הספסל ליד הכלבו. pic.twitter.com/FSOafBPFly
— Amir Tibon אמיר תיבון (@amirtibon) September 15, 2023
When the family heard the attacks starting at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning, they hid in their safe room with their daughters Galia, 3, and Carmel, 1, Amir Tibon told The Atlantic on Monday.
“I’m in the room with my wife, and I hear the gunfire directly outside my window, as well as shouting. I understand Arabic. I understood exactly what was happening: that Hamas has infiltrated our kibbutz, that there are terrorists outside my window, and that I’m locked in my house and inside my safe room with two young girls, and I don’t know if anyone is going to come to save us,” Tibon said.
He called his 62-year-old father, who said he was coming to get them.
Later, they lost cell reception, and the family stayed in their safe room in the dark for 10 hours until Tibon’s father finally made it to them.
Tibon said he kept telling his small daughters, “Grandfather is coming,” the one thing that kept them from crying.
On his way to rescue his son, the elder Tibon used his pistol to help a group of soldiers kill Hamas fighters, his son said. He then teamed up with another retired former general, and they drove a regular car through the community, finally reaching his son’s family.
During his military career, the elder Tibon specialized in counter-terrorism and homeland security. Besides studying in Israel, he also graduated from the U.S. Marine Corps University, Command and Staff College.
Since the terrorist attacks by Hamas began on Saturday, more than 1,000 people have died in Israel, according to the IDF’s Army Radio.
Within hours after the attacks began, disturbing, graphic videos circulated showing murdered Israeli civilians as well as Hamas soldiers with hostages, including children, the elderly, and bloodied women who appear to have been sexually assaulted.
Israeli military forces also reportedly found at least 40 babies murdered at a nursery in southern Israel.
Israel has promised a devastating military response to Hamas and has already begun a massive counteroffensive, launching hundreds of airstrikes in Hamas-controlled territory.
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