While armed terrorists were still operating around the Nova festival, an Israeli farmer repeatedly drove his pickup into the danger zone, using back roads to reach terrified survivors.

By Hezy Laing

Oz Davidian was driving his pickup truck through the fields near his home on the morning of October 7, 2023, when he began hearing explosions and gunfire in the distance.

Something was terribly wrong.

As reports of the Hamas attack spread, Davidian realized that the Nova music festival near Re’im was under assault and that hundreds of young people were desperately trying to escape.

He did not know how many people were trapped, but he knew the area and understood that the dirt roads and agricultural tracks might provide a way in and out.

So he turned his truck toward the danger.

Davidian, a farmer and attorney from Moshav Maslul near Ofakim, eventually made roughly 15 to 20 trips into the area, repeatedly driving toward the festival grounds while terrorists were still hunting civilians.

Over the course of the day, he rescued about 120 people, loading frightened festivalgoers into his pickup and driving them away from the killing zone.

His knowledge of the countryside became crucial.

Instead of relying on the main roads, Davidian used dirt tracks and agricultural routes that he knew from years of working the land.

On some trips, he found young people hiding in fields or running for their lives.

He would stop, open the doors of his truck and tell them to get inside.

Davidian also handed his phone to survivors so they could call their parents and tell them they were alive.

But the journey was far from safe.

On one trip, he approached a police vehicle and saw what appeared to be a wounded person being treated.

When the man answered him in Arabic, Davidian realized he was a terrorist.

The gunman opened fire, and Davidian accelerated away as bullets struck around him.

Still, he turned around and went back.

In all, Davidian made 15 rescue trips into the area, ultimately bringing some 120 people to safety.

One of those survivors, Chen, later reunited with him, and their emotional meeting brought back memories of her terrifying escape.

Davidian has also spoken about the people he could not save, including victims whose families contacted him after the attack.

For the 120 people who climbed into his truck, however, the sound of his engine meant something extraordinary on a morning when help seemed impossibly far away.