Maor Family

Single-handedly fought 15 terrorists

Maor Family

Yaron fought 15 terrorists while his wife Lee and 3 daughters hid in the safe room. When he couldn’t fend them off anymore, he joined his family in ‎the safe room. As the door burned, they escaped out the window. Later, they met the police who ‎suspected Yaron. Saying “Shema Israel” saved him from friendly fire.

Lee and Yaron Maor and their four daughters: Yasmin, Neomi, Tamar and Eden

Single-handedly fought 15 terrorists

Maor Family

Minute by Minute Circle
06:30
07:15
07:25
09:00
09:29
09:44
10:24
10:52
11:18
12:34
~13:50
~14:00

The sequence of events

Minute by Minute

Click on the points on the timeline for a real-time tour. Clicking on the icons will display the event documentation.

06:30

Red color alarm at Nir Oz

07:15

Terrorists in the kibbutz clinic

07:25

Lee is checking up on Eden who is at Grandma Rachel's

09:00

Kibbutz residents report on the app about shootings at houses

09:29

Yaron decides to get out of the safe room and fight the terrorists

09:44

Yaron fights terrorists from inside the house

10:24

Lee fears for Yaron's life

10:52

Yaron returns to safe room

Component 88 – 1

11:18

Terrorists burn down Maor family's house

Component 88 – 1

12:34

Eden calls for help

Component 88 – 1

~13:50

The Maor family escapes through the safe room's window

Component 88 – 1

~14:00

Yaron joins the rescue force and helps save more families

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The Maor family wakes up startled. Lee shouts to her husband Yaron to bring Neomi who sleeps in the living room. Everyone joins Yasmin who sleeps in the safe room. Eden, their eldest daughter, sleeps at Grandma Rachel's together with Ahinoam, her cousin from Tel Aviv.

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A kibbutz member informs the kibbutz app about the arrival of terrorists at the clinic. Lee ‎wakes Yaron and asks him to bring his gun and return to the safe room. Yaron tries to open the ‎safe twice and only succeeds on his third try. He is debating whether to equip himself with an ‎extra magazine and decides to take it with him so he doesn't have to go back to the safe, and ‎then goes back to sleep in the safe room‏.‏

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Kibbutz' messaging app
Member of the security squad
Terrorists in the clinic area dressed as soldiers
07:15 07/10/2023
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Lee writes to her eldest daughter, who is sleeping at Grandma Rachel's with her cousin, and ‎asks how they are doing.

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Correspondence between Lee and her daughter Eden
Lee
How are you? Are you in the safe room?
07:10 07/10/2023
Eden
Yes
07:13 07/10/2023
Lee
Eden, is everyone all right???
07:25 07/10/2023
Eden
Yes
07:34 07/10/2023
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Reports of terrorists in houses in different parts of the kibbutz begin to be received. Lee shows the app messages to Yaron, who becomes alert and begins to grasp the magnitude of the event.

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Kibbutz' messaging app
Kibbutz resident 1
We have shootings, there's noise, they're trying to get in
09:00 07/10/2023
Kibbutz resident 2
I hear terrorists in our house
09:01 07/10/2023
Kibbutz resident 3
They're trying to get into our home, please
09:05 07/10/2023
Kibbutz resident 4
Please come, they're here.
09:08 07/10/2023
Kibbutz resident 5
At my place, they tore down the whole house according to the noise
09:08 07/10/2023
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Yaron hears a suspicious noise on the house porch. He decides to get out of the safe room, enters the children's room, looks out the window onto the porch and sees about 15 terrorists. He intends to shoot them, but realizes that this will draw fire upon himself and decides to ambush them. He advances toward the hallway to gain a wide angle of view of the front door. After a few minutes, the terrorists try to break through the door with no success. One of the terrorists tries to enter through the window, Yaron advances towards him and shoots him twice. The terrorist falls outside the window

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    • Disable
    Yaron Maor recounts the events Media: From “At seven with Ayala Hasson”, Kan 11
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    Correspondence between Lee and Yaron Maor
    Lee
    Where did you go??? I'm scared
    09:29 07/10/2023
    Lee
    Come back Are you okay?
    09:37 07/10/2023
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    A terrorist throws a grenade through the window into the family home. Yaron quickly runs into another room and counts until the grenade explodes. He then returns to the hallway while the terrorists fire incessantly into the house. Another terrorist comes to the window and enters the residence. Yaron fires two bullets and kills him. Yaron notices five more terrorists in the window. He empties his magazine shooting them and puts in a new one. The terrorists throw in another grenade and Yaron runs to hide again. While fighting, he checks up with Lee how Eden is doing

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      • Disable
      Yaron Maor Media: From “At seven with Ayala Hasson”, Kan 11
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      Correspondence between Lee and Yaron Maor
      Lee
      Where are you???
      09:44 07/10/2023
      Yaron
      Here
      10:02 07/10/2023
      Yaron
      I killed a terrorist
      10:03 07/10/2023
      Lee
      Are you injured?
      10:03 07/10/2023
      Yaron
      No
      10:04 07/10/2023
      Lee
      Thank God
      10:04 07/10/2023
      Yaron
      Where's Eden?
      10:09 07/10/2023
      Lee
      At my mother's She's scared I told them to be quiet and stay in the safe room
      10:09 07/10/2023
      Yaron
      If we get out of this we repent
      10:14 07/10/2023
      Lee
      Yaron, are you here?
      10:17 07/10/2023
      Yaron
      Yes They're attacking the House
      10:18 07/10/2023
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      For about an hour and a half, Yaron fights outside the safe room while his wife and daughters atr in it, hearing the heavy gunfire. Lee fears for the her husband's life while he is fighting the terrorists, for her eldest daughter who is with her mother, for her father Alex Dancyg and for her uncle Itzik Elgart.

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      Correspondence between Lee and Yaron Maor
      Lee
      Yaronnn
      10:24 07/10/2023
      Yaron
      I'm here I have to fight until I run out of bullets
      10:27 07/10/2023
      Lee
      I love you, don't do us part
      10:50 07/10/2023
      Yaron
      😘
      10:52 07/10/2023
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      Yaron notices that the mattress in one of the rooms is burning. He debates whether to bring water to extinguish the fire. He decides to quickly return to safe room. In the meantime, Lee asks for help on the kibbutz app. Yaron shouts to Lee to open the safe room doorץ His hearing is impaired due to the explosion noises he was exposed to.

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      Kibbutz' messaging app
      Lee
      They burn our house down, they threw grenades here, please help us
      10:52 07/10/2023
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      The bedroom in the Maor family home after it was burned
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      Lee informs Yaron that Eden, Grandma Rachel and cousin Ahinoam hold the safe room’s door ‎and try to prevent terrorists from coming in. Lee informs on the kibbutz app that their house is ‎on fire.

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        • Disable
        Yaron Maor Media: From “At Seven With Ayala Hasson”, Kan 11
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        KIBBUTZ MESSAGING APP
        Lee
        My house is on fire
        11:18 07/10/2023
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        The workroom at the Maor family house after it burned down
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        Eden informs Lee that terrorists are trying to infiltrate the house. 72-year-old grandma Rachel is struggling with the terrorists, holding the door handle preventing their entry. One of the terrorists shoots at the safe room's door and the bullet passes next to her, without hitting them. Eden begs for someone to come and help.

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          • Disable
          Yaron Maor tells of grandma Rachel's struggle with terrorists Media: From “At Seven With Ayala Hasson”, Kan 11
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          Correspondence between Lee and her daughter Eden
          Eden
          Grandma asks what happened in Nir Oz
          00:34 07/10/2023
          Lee
          Still happening. Terrorist infiltration
          00:34 07/10/2023
          Eden
          Where is the army?
          00:35 07/10/2023
          Lee
          I don't know
          00:35 07/10/2023
          Eden
          Check it out, Pleeeease
          00:35 07/10/2023
          Eden
          She can barely hold the door anymore Can anyone come, maybe? She asks what about the army She asks for daddy to come
          13:02 07/10/2023
          Lee
          Switch between you, that every time someone else holds the door
          13:03 07/10/2023
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          The safe room at Lee Maor's mother Rachel's home
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          The terrorists arrive to take the body of the killed terrorist and set fire to the house while the family members hide in the safe room. The door handle heats up to the point that it is impossible to grip it anymore. Lee and Yaron place a towel at the doorsill and relieve themselves on it to prevent the smoke from entering. They fear dying of suffocation, but don't know if the terrorists would kill them the moment they try to get out. About half an hour later, they decide to get out through the safe room's window. Yaron comes out first, scours the area, and Lee takes the children out. Yaron notices a Border Police officers who suspect him. He shouts at them “Hear, O‎‏ ‏Israel: the Lord is our God”. Lee shouts “This is my husband” and the officers become convinced that Yaron is not a terrorist

          Exit Media
            • Disable
            Yaron Maor tells about the moment of leaving through the safe room window Media: From “At Seven With Ayala Hasson”, Kan 11
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            The safe room at the Maor residence after it was burned
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            The rescue force turns to Yaron and asks his help to reach the home of Chaim Peri, a resident of the kibbutz. Yaron requests that two fighters stay with his family, and leads the force to many homes until late at night. At this point, there are no more terrorists in the kibbutz

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            Lee and her three daughters accompanied by soldiers
            Lee and her three daughters accompanied by soldiers
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              • Disable
              Yaron Maor tells about the moment of joining the IDF forces Media: From “At Seven With Ayala Hasson”, Kan 11
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              Kibbutz' messaging app
              Yaron
              There's a police force with me in the kibbutz. Everyone, don't get out of your houses. I'm starting to scour with them. Are there any more families still at home here? We will come and take you
              14:00 07/10/2023

              The Day After

              10/8/23

              Maor family evacuated from Nir Oz
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              In the afternoon, the Maor family is evacuated along with the rest of the families to Eilat. After about three weeks they move to live in Kibbutz Ma'agan Michael and after about a month they move again to Binyamina.

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