Eyal Young
An MA student at Bar-Ilan University and a member of Kibbutz Alumim, Eyal fought the terrorists who attacked the kibbutz, saved lives and was wounded in battle.
Eyal is an MA student in Bar-Ilan University’s Department of Political Studies, majoring in Military and Security at Bar-Ilan University. He served as a combat soldier in his compulsory military service, and currently serves as a Tank Commander in the army reserves.
On October 7, Eyal woke up at 6:30 AM, along with his wife and four children, to the sounds of gunfire near their home in Kibbutz Alumim in Southern Israel. “We entered our shelter and waited for the shooting to end," he recalled. About half an hour later, when it became clear that there were terrorists inside the kibbutz, the many years his combat experience became essential. "I had a weapon and equipment at home. I took them out and began patrolling with a member of our emergency readiness group." After a few minutes, Eyal encountered the horror for the first time, witnessing a few of the Kibbutz’s agriculture workforce dead and wounded.
"At a certain point, the member I was with identified a suspicious movement," he recalls. "He started shooting at the terrorists, to drive them away from the houses, and was wounded. Another member of the group evacuated him to the medical clinic, and then I saw more terrorists moving towards the Kibbutz. We decided to stand at a point that controls the entry and try to keep them away from the houses. After we encountered the terrorists at close range, the member was wounded in the leg and I was wounded in the face. I fired back at the terrorist, and after he fell, I was wounded again, this time more severely".
Within a short time, other members of the emergency readiness group arrived and killed the terrorists. Eyal, fully conscious, managed to get up with great difficulty, and with the help of his friends, headed to the kibbutz nurse's house. "She started taking care of me. The clinic manager, a trained medic, tried to stabilize me. My condition wasn’t good, and the nurse's husband decided to take a risk and evacuate me by car. They took down the vehicle’s chairs, laid me on the bottom of the car, and I held on to the belt buckle and tried not to lose consciousness," he says.
The vehicle carrying Eyal started driving at a crazy speed in the area of the battles, trying to avoid being targeted. Eventually, the vehicle arrived at Netivot, and Eyal was taken by ambulance to Soroka Hospital. "As soon as I got to the Emergency Room, I lost consciousness. I underwent emergency surgery and the doctors managed to save my life," he says.
Since that terrible day, Eyal underwent a series of surgeries and began a rehabilitation process. He suffers a severe injury in his ribs, a hole in his lung, an injury in his shoulder, and shrapnel in various places. "I received excellent treatment, and mental support as well. Compared to others, I’m in a good place and thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for the support and help," he concludes.