A minute by minute replay of the incredible battle.

By Hezy Laing

Kibbutz Kerem Shalom located right next to the Gaza border was hit hard during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. But the resident’s emergency squad defended the kibbutz and repelled hundreds of infiltrating terrorists protecting the residents.

Here is a minute by minute replay of the incredible battle according to the Kan network.

By 7:00 Kibbutz Kerem Shalom begins to face waves of infiltration attempts by Hamas terrorists. But the kibbutz’s emergency squad—including reservists like Yair Ben Shalom—act swiftly to organize defensive positions and prevent a massacre. The defenders split into multiple teams and position themselves strategically around the kibbutz perimeter.

At 7:15 seven terrorists blow up one of the barricades at the entrance to the kibbutz, and manage to reach its central area. One of the terrorists enters the Teitelbaum family home, starts shooting, and searches for the family. There are two safe rooms in the family home, and the terrorist who entered only one of them apparently thought the house was empty and went outside. There, the security squad killed him and the other terrorists who came with him.

At 9:15 ten terrorists attempt to infiltrate from the solar farm area east of the kibbutz. The security squad eliminates them all, and Nahal soldiers remain in the nearby gate to continue and secure the area.

At 10:00 the kibbutz security chief, Ben Shimol, realizes that more terrorists are on their way, and he tries to call for help from the Armored Corps, but there is no longer a response from the IDF. Four minutes later, an operations sergeant calls back and reports that terrorists have raided the Kerem Shalom IDF Base and that they have no way to help because they are hiding themselves.

At 10:20 a combat helicopter arrives in the area. It is unable to identify the terrorists hiding in the solar farms, so it launches a missile towards the open area, to test the terrorists’ reaction. Dozens of terrorists emerge from their hideouts, apparently thinking they have been discovered. The helicopter fires at the terrorists moving towards the kibbutz and hits them.

At 10:30 the Schindler family reports they hear voices speaking Arabic outside their house – but get no response. Two minutes later, the family calls again to ask for help, since the terrorists are already inside the house. The security squad heads there. The terrorists manage to blow up the safe room’s door when the security squad arrives on the scene. A battle ensues, during which two members of the security squad, Amichai Weitzen and Yedidiya Raziel, are killed. The terrorists leave the house and are all killed outside. The squad members place a tourniquet on the left hand of the father, Amichai, who was seriously injured by the explosion of the safe room door. Three medics, members of the kibbutz, Roni and Ofer Kissin and May Caspi, come under fire as they continue treating Amichai. The mother and six children remain in the safe room until their rescue, and the security squad members carry their two slain friends out.

At 11:15 a group of terrorists blows up part of the concrete block wall of the kibbutz. Members of the security squad flank that area in order to prevent infiltrations. A few minutes later, an RPG missile is fired from the breach in the wall, seriously wounding security squad member Yair Wiesner. A doctor who was staying with one of the members of the kibbutz arrives at the scene to treat Yair, along with three medics who were staying at the kibbutz.

At 12:30 an IDF tank arrives and secures the entrance to the kibbutz and by 14:00 a large IDF force arrives to secure the area.

The actions of the Kibbutz Security Squad were credited with saving hundreds of lives and preventing further infiltration, though the battle cost the lives of two squad members.

Yair Ben Shalom’s leadership and coordination with IDF reinforcements were instrumental in stabilizing the situation until evacuation could be arranged.