A 25yearold Israeli woman has been hailed as a hero after she urged residents of a kibbutz a kilometer from the Gaza Strip to defend themselves against terrorists during the Hamas offensive against Israel. Inbar Lieberman helped coordinate defense efforts that resulted in the deaths of more than 20 Hamas extremists and prevented a massacre in the Nir Am community.
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Last Saturday, Hamas terrorists advanced into Israeli territory in a surprise attack by land, sea, rockets and parachutes that left more than 1,200 Israelis dead and 2,700 injured. According to British press outlets such as The Sun and DailyMail, when Inbar noticed the extremists’ arrival, he distributed weapons to residents of the community of just 700 residents.
At the time of the attack, Nir Am only had a security team of twelve members. She armed volunteers and led them to strategic positions throughout the community. Inbar himself killed five Hamas terrorists and led other residents to slaughter more than 20 people during a siege that lasted four hours.
In an interview with the Israel Hayom website, resident Ilit Paz praised the 25yearold girl’s actions as “decisive.”
It was wonderful. My husband was part of the preparedness unit that worked to prevent deaths. They heard the shots and contacted other members of the riot unit and Inbar on their own. They were told to be vigilant, but Inbar decided not to wait. In fact, the fact that they did this early prevented dozens of casualties.
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The local newspaper Maariv Daily praised Inbar’s courage and emphasized the need for an award.
“The story of his heroism is one that will remain in Israeli tradition for generations,” the daily said.
The kibbutz of Inbar survived the invasion virtually unscathed. However, other communities have recorded dozens of deaths. Israeli soldiers found around 40 dead babies and children in the Kfar Aza community, which was attacked by Hamas on Saturday, according to a local television station that visited the area on Tuesday.