Reuben Heinik from Kibbutz Kissufim on October 7 | Kan 7.10.360

Reuven, his wife Dorit, and their daughter Adi wake to the sound of red alert sirens in their Ashkelon home and take shelter in their safe room. About thirty minutes later, Dorit, who's a chief radiology technician at Barzilai Medical Center, is urgently called into work. Their daughters, Neta and Yuval, are not at home. Reuven, the head dairyman at Kibbutz Kissufim, is scheduled to work that morning but has swapped shifts due to a family event. As he drives Dorit to the hospital, he remarks how fortunate he is not to have been at the dairy that day. Throughout the morning, he tries to reach residents of Kissufim to check on them and on the cows—but no one answers

That evening, Reuven manages to reach contacts in Kissufim and learns that terrorists had infiltrated the kibbutz in large numbers. He is informed that six Thai workers who had worked alongside him in the dairy were murdered that day. He speaks with Amnon Zarqa, Kissufim’s agricultural coordinator, who briefs him on the situation, and with Avi Freiman, the dairy manager at Kibbutz Alumim, who reports that the dairy there was set ablaze. Later that night, Reuven receives devastating news: his relatives, Gil and Or Taisa from the moshav of Netiv HaAsara, were also murdered

On Sunday morning, Reuben checks to see if access to the kibbutz is possible. Overnight, Kissufim’s residents had been evacuated, and he fears no one remains to care for the dairy. He knows the cows haven’t been fed since Saturday and are in severe distress from not being milked. Reuben contacts military officials but is denied entry to the Kibbutz. His wife, Dorit, also urges him not to go. That evening, he receives a WhatsApp message from a military contact informing him he’ll be permitted to return to the dairy the next day.

On Monday, Reuven wakes early and gets ready to drive to Kissufim. Dorit urges him not to go, warning that the area is still dangerous. During their conversation, Reuven receives a call from a military official granting him permission to enter. He puts the call on speaker so Dorit can hear the confirmation herself: the kibbutz is considered clear of terrorists. Reassured, Reuven sets out. Along the way, at one of the IDF’s staging areas, he runs into a reservist who knows his daughter. The soldier joins him on the drive to Kissufim. At the kibbutz entrance, they meet Amnon Zarqa, the agricultural coordinator, and Gil Brauner, a dairy worker

Reuven and his group arrive at the kibbutz and make their way to the dairy. Noticing there’s no electricity, Reuven and Gil go to inspect the electrical cabinet, located deep within the structure. Reuven walks in first, and after only a few steps, he is shot by terrorists lying in ambush inside. Gil flees. Amnon and the reservist take cover behind nearby vehicles and engage in a firefight with the terrorists. Shortly afterward, members of the kibbutz security squad and stationed soldiers arrive at the scene. The force decides to shell the dairy with a tank. A tank arrives, fires several rounds, and brings down the structure. The troops then enter the building and recover Reuven’s body

Dorit repeatedly tries to reach Reuven, but her calls go unanswered. She and the daughters attempt to contact people in the kibbutz, but no one responds. Around 1:30 p.m., they speak with a resident who mentions there was an incident but says no one was hurt. By 3:00 p.m., they manage to reach Amnon Zarqa, the agricultural coordinator, and begin to sense that something is wrong. Later that afternoon, Dorit returns from work. She meets Amnon Zarqa, Gil Brauner, and the reservist soldier, who deliver the devastating news: Reuven has been shot and killed