In the midst of absolute evil, there are always heroes. The overwhelming majority of them are average people with regular jobs and families. It is amazing what courage and spirit comes out in some people during the darkest moments of their lives.
In the middle of all these horrific stories coming out of Israel, with many more to come in the days ahead, I wanted to share a few stories of those normal heroes who gave everything to save the lives of loved ones and/or complete strangers.
Meet Yaniv Sarundi. Yaniv reportedly picked up nine people in his car during the invasion in southern Israel and drove them to an Israeli military outpost to try to get them help. When he saw that Hamas had overrun that outpost, he drove through gunfire to escape. He was injured by the terrorists, but managed to find a safe spot for everyone in his car to wait until Israeli forces showed up to rescue them two hours later.
He died saving these strangers.
Meet Amit Mann. Amit was a 21-year-old paramedic who went to Kibbutz Be'eri (a town near the border with Gaza near the coast) during the attack. She spent 6 hours helping the wounded and hiding from the roaming Hamas forces. She reportedly texted her family that she didn't think she was going to survive and told them she loved them. Her last words were, "They're on me. They shot my legs."
Her body was found with 107 others, approximately 10% of the farming village, including the elderly, infants, and mothers with small children.
Meet Itay and Hadar Berdichevsky. Itay and Hadar lived with their 10-month-old twins two miles east of Gaza in Kfar Aza. When they saw Hamas forces coming toward their house, they hid the two babies and turned to fight the terrorists. They were killed, but their kids were found safe 12 hours later by Israeli forces and are currently safe with their grandmother.
Meet Elkana Federman. Elkana was reportedly at the concert where Hamas mowed down 260 terrified attendees who tried to flee over the open desert. Elkana charged at the Hamas terrorists and grabbed a rifle from a fallen Israeli security guard/soldier at the event and started firing back. Social media accounts are saying he hit/wounded a fair number of them, though I have no way to verify how many when embellishment tends to be the norm after events like this.
Elkana survived and was able to be interviewed from the hospital.
In addition to civilians, many IDF soldiers have given the ultimate sacrifice to protect their loved ones and neighbors. Here are just a few:
Some of the stories you'll see emerging have been given embellishment. Some will be created for propaganda. But the reality is that real men and women have and are giving their lives to protect their loved ones. There are real heroes. There is real bravery. There are things worth fighting for.
Evil won't win while there are such people in this world.
"Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker." - CS Lewis
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
