Zion Levy
When the rocket barrages began, Rody Skarisevski left his home to pick up his daughters. After bringing one home, he set out for his younger daughter but was fatally shot by terrorists. His dashcam captured his final moments. His son, an active-duty soldier, kept fighting after hearing about his father's death
The Dashcam Captured Everything: Terrorists Leap Toward Rody’s Car And Shoot Him Dead
Click on the points on the timeline for a real-time tour. Clicking on the icons will display the event documentation.
At their home in the moshav of Ohad, Bordering Gaza, Rodolfo "Rody" and Rinat Skarisevski awaken to the sound of heavy rocket barrages and red alert sirens. With them is Sharon (15), an at-risk youth for whom they serve as a foster family. Their three children are also roused by the sirens, each from their respective homes: their eldest son, Yehonatan (29), who lives in Tel Aviv; their middle daughter, Daniel (27), in the nearby moshav of Sde Nitzan; and their youngest daughter, Gili (20), in Be’er Sheva
The rocket barrages continue unabated, and Rody’s two daughters call him, frightened, as their apartments lack safe rooms. He reassures them, telling them he is on his way to bring them to Ohad. Rody and Rinat’s home also lacks a safe room, so during the attack, they take shelter in the walk-in wardrobe, considered the safest space in the house. Rudy quickly prepares and leaves the house within five minutes. He first picks up Daniel, who lives in the nearby Sde Nitzan. His dashboard camera records their drive, with the radio broadcasting reports of rocket fire across the country
While driving with Daniel and nearing their home in Ohad, Rody calls his youngest daughter, Gili, who lives in Be’er Sheva: “Gilush, get ready — I’ll be leaving in a few minutes to pick you up.” The call, recorded by the car’s dashboard camera, captures Gili replying, “Drive carefully, Dad.” Daniel wants to join her father on the drive, but he refuses. Rody drops her off in Ohad and continues on to Gili
Rםdy’s dashboard camera continues recording. As he nears the Mivtachim Junction, two terrorists in ambush surprise him from the side of the road. One opens fire at him. Rםdy loses control of his vehicle, veering into a ditch beyond the guardrail. He is killed instantly. At 7:10 a.m., Rinat calls their son, Yehonatan, and says, “Dad isn’t answering me.” Yehonatan tries to reach his father while tracking the car’s location via its Ituran system, which shows it stopped at the Mivtachim Junction
After watching footage of the terrorist infiltrations, Yehonatan, a reserve deputy battalion commander of the Givati Brigade veterans, sends a message to his unit, urging everyone to prepare for a possible call-up: “Guys, I don’t know what’s happening yet—there’s no official order—but everyone should pack a bag.” Minutes later, a soldier from the battalion, Daniel Sharabi, reports that he and his brother Neriya are at the Nova party in Re’im, where a massacre is unfolding. Yehonatan’s two sergeants, Andrey Gerasimyuk and Yakir Nitzotzi, contact him. Unable to reach anyone in the military command, Yehonatan asks them to meet him
Outside his home in Tel Aviv, Yehonatan meets with Andrey and Yakir, the battalion's sergeants. After giving them a briefing, the three head toward Re’im. Meanwhile, at the Nova party site in the Re’im parking lot, Daniel and Neriya Sharabi take cover behind a damaged tank with limited weaponry. Alongside two police officers, two army officers, and partygoers who fled the massacre, they engage in a firefight against the terrorists. Yehonatan stays on the cellular line with them, guiding their actions
Near the Urim Junction, terrorists open fire on the vehicle carrying Yehonatan, Andrey, and Yakir, but they manage to continue toward the Nova festival site. Throughout this time, Yehonatan remains in contact with his mother. He lies, telling her he’s still in Tel Aviv, and urges her and his sisters not to search for their father, assuring them he has already sent people to look for him. Yehonatan suspects his father is no longer alive—he sees that the vehicle’s location hasn’t moved from the Mivtachim Junction since 7:08 a.m.—but he doesn’t share this with his mother
Under heavy fire, Yehonatan, Andrey, and Yakir manage to reach the Sharabi brothers, who are still taking cover near the damaged tank. For hours, they fight to rescue others, successfully evacuating many young men and women from the area
Yehonatan’s sister calls him, warning that if he doesn’t arrive, she will set out on foot to search for their father. Yehonatan, Andrey, and Yakir evacuate the Re’im party grounds and head south. The road to the moshav of Ohad is lined with horrors. Following the location data, they reach the Mivtachim Junction. Yehonatan cannot find his father’s car, which had been hurled into a ditch. He decides to continue to his parents’ home, where he finds his mother, his sister Daniel, and Sharon in the walk-in wardrobe, where they had been sheltering in for about nine hours
Yehonatan returns to the Mivtachim Junction with Andrey and Yakir. This time, he manages to spot his father’s car in the ditch. As he approaches, he finds his father inside, shot dead. He drives back to the house in Ohad to deliver the devastating news to his mother and sister. Later, he and his fellow battalion members head to Be’er Sheva to bring his younger sister, Gili, back to their parents’ home in Ohad
The residents of Ohad are authorized to evacuate the moshav. Rinat leaves with her daughters, Daniel and Gili, and Sharon, relocating to family friends at Kibbutz Shovalim. Yehonatan remains behind to help secure Ohad, alongside the community security coordinator and other armed residents. About ten days later, he rejoins his battalion
After Rody’s body is identified, the family receives official notification that he was murdered on October 7
Rody is buried in the Tzohar local cemetery in the western Negev. His gravestone bears the inscription “The Heart of Everyone”
“Everyone's Hearth”: Rudy’s Grave
After fighting in Gaza, Yehonatan returns home and receives a proposal from one of his soldiers, Yitzhak Sarusi, to launch a socio-economic initiative together. In Rody’s memory, they establish “For Home, For Tomorrow” — a project aimed at addressing the shortage of workers in the construction and infrastructure sectors while rehabilitating young people struggling to find stability and employment. The initiative focuses on former combat soldiers, youths from Israel's southern region, and at-risk ultra-Orthodox youth
Yehonatan and Daniel decide to jointly manage their father’s company, which provides technological services to local residents. In a message he shares, Yehonatan writes: “After much deliberation over the future of his life’s work, we decided to take the reins with full force and move forward”
המתחם האינטראקטיבי של מפת העוטף ב-7 באוקטובר 2023 נועד לתעד ולהנציח את האירועים שהתרחשו ביישובי עוטף עזה באמצעות תיעודים מזמן אמת, דקה אחר דקה.
הפרויקט בהליכי בנייה ותחקיר, בשלבים הבאים יתווספו נקודות רבות על המפה, לרבות בסיסי צה”ל, הרחבת אזורי המסיבות והדרכים המובילות לעוטף.
לפרטים נוספים וליצירת קשר לחצו כאן
אזהרה: התוכן מכיל תיאורים ותיעודים קשים לצפייה