Remembering October 7: SSGT Tal's Story

On Saturday, October 7th, I embarked on a mission, wondering if I would make it back. This was the moment I had been preparing to protect the land I had sworn to defend. By 11:30 A.M., I was in a helicopter with my team, heading toward communities near Gaza.

The deafening sounds of explosions and gunfire greeted us as we landed. One unit was dispatched to help at the Nova party, eliminating any terrorists still there, while my team landed at Kibbutz Re'im, where forces from Sayeret Matkal and Shaldag had already engaged.

Our next stop was Mefalsim, later exposed to be a Hamas command center. What we walked into was unimaginable—bodies everywhere, both terrorists and Israeli soldiers. As a navigator, it was my job to clear the path for my team, and though my heart was pounding, I knew I had to stay focused.

Our mission was split into two: eliminate the terrorists already there and stop any further infiltration from Gaza. For hours, we lied among the bodies, ambushing any enemy that crossed our path. It was the first time I truly felt that my life could end in an instant.

We remained there through the night, and by morning, walking along the Gaza border and through the kibbutzim felt surreal, like the past 24 hours had been nothing more than a nightmare. How did it come to this?
What went so wrong?