They physically blocked the venue entrance, serving as a human buffer between the terrorists and thousands of revelers trying to escape.

By Hezy Laing

The sun rises over the Nova Festival complex in Re’im, exactly two years after that dark morning that changed the face of the country.

In the place where lives were cut short, Sivan Leibovich, the widow of Police Maj. Sharon Leibovich, and Racheli Yanin, the widow of Police Maj. Sivan Yanin, are gathering to commemorate the bravery of their husbands, Israel Police officers, who fell in a heroic defensive battle.

Sivan Leibovich recalls the morning of October 7, which she recounted to Israel’s Channel 14.

Her husband, Sharon, was out on security duty at the festival. “I was at home with four children,” she says.

“I called him at 6:29, and he told me, ‘Sio, don’t worry, everything is fine, we are evacuating civilians to safe places.'”

But when she turned on the TV, she realized that the reality was much more serious.

“I saw a frightening sight, this white Toyota with the pickup trucks.

I called him again to warn him that it was something much bigger, and in fact that was my last call, I couldn’t warn him. And then he didn’t answer me.”

For a week, Sivan remained in complete uncertainty, until the most bitter news of all arrived at her door.

For Racheli Yanin, the story is chillingly similar. Her husband, Sivan, a resident of Arad, also worked as security at the party.

“When the alarms started going off, the first thing he did was check what was wrong with me,” she recalls.

“His motto in life was ‘There’s nothing scarier than fear itself,’ and suddenly he writes me the word ‘scary.’ In retrospect, you understand.”

He sent her a final selfie. “He looked troubled, a little sad… as if he knew. He actually sent a final selfie, a kind of farewell.

A little later, the battle began, and I never heard from him again.”

From the details of the investigation and the testimonies, an unimaginable story of heroism emerged.

Sivan Yanin and Sharon Leibowitz stood together at the entrance to the R’eim.

When they realized the magnitude of the event, they physically blocked the entrance to the venue, serving as a human buffer between the terrorists and the thousands of revelers who were trying to escape.

“They stood there, fought for about half an hour, 40 minutes.

With one gun, one cartridge that the police had at the time, and held the line,” says Racheli.

“In the meantime, people managed to escape. It was truly a heroic battle.”

Sivan adds: “They fought to the last bullet.

They were not prepared for this at all.

They had come to provide security for a party and yet they needed to do the work of an entire army.”

The stubborn battle ended when Hamas terrorists fired an RPG missile at them.

“With that RPG, they were simply killed together and found together,” Racheli says painfully.

“First they found and identified Sharon, and Sivan, unfortunately, after three days, was found among Sharon’s remains.

They were simply as one body. It was terrible.”