Daniel, 24, Fought Hamas Terrorists in Abandoned Tank for Hours, Saving Dozens of Lives

israel - A year after the October 7 attack in Israel by Hamas, Daniel fought with Hamas terrorists in an abandoned tank for hours, resulting in the rescue of many lives.

Sunrise was the peak. Many festival-goers were completely ecstatic when the hell broke loose around half past six in the morning. It started with a barrage of rockets, followed by heavily armed terrorists storming the area.

The beginning of an unprecedented bloodbath, which would claim the lives of 364 people at the Nova festival alone. And mark a generation of young people for life.

Daniel Sharabi was at the house party on the border with Gaza with forty friends, a farewell party before he was set to study in the United States. He had never imagined that night, dancing under the starry sky, that he would never see half of them again. And that he would henceforth be hailed as a hero.

The 24-year-old Daniel vividly remembers the moment when the shooting started, and he tried to flee with his brother and some friends. But the path was too dangerous, so they turned back and took cover behind a line of cars. 'It was total chaos, 3500 people all running at the same time.'

Then a massive explosion: an RPG grenade hit next to them, killing some of his friends instantly. When Daniel came to his senses, just before nine in the morning, he saw a severely damaged tank. Abandoned by fleeing soldiers. He and his brother Neria had nowhere else to go, so they ran towards it, hoping to find firearms.

First, they grabbed the gun of a dead soldier in the military vehicle. 'But it was full of sand,' recalls Daniel. Eventually, from a woman hiding behind the tank, they obtained oil to clean the weapon.

Daniel then took position behind the tank's large machine gun, but he had no idea where the ammunition was. 'So, I quickly called my former commander when I was in service.'

Amidst the pandemonium around him, he put the phone on speaker, and the commander instructed him on where to find bullets and then provided guidance on how to proceed. It was the beginning of five long hours.

During the party, Daniel had consumed a fair amount of alcohol and 'a bit of ketamine,' so he was anything but sober.

Yftah Twig had not used drugs that night. At least, as far as his sister Keren knows. 'He was more into alcohol.' Yftah also tried to flee after the first shots, but he returned because the way was blocked.

He, along with some other Israelis, took shelter in a container behind some garbage bags. It was around the same time that Daniel and his brother sat in the tank ten to twenty meters away.

Yftah called friends and family from his precarious position. Keren: 'He reassured my father that he was safe and asked him not to contact the parents of his friends, as it would only worry them.' At that point, he still had hope. 'He promised my father he would come home.'

From the container, the 27-year-old Yftah heard the carnage unfolding around him. The shots, the explosions, the screams. 'They could not flee to the tank nearby,' tells Keren.

He was trapped: terrorists had surrounded the steel container where he and the others remained silent for hours.

It seemed for a long time that they would make it, but just before noon, tragedy struck. A civilian from Gaza, who had crossed the border to loot, heard noise from the container and informed a Hamas terrorist. 'He handed the man a gun and told him to do it himself. 'Enjoy it,' said the terrorist.'

Eventually, a civilian in flip-flops and shorts fired a hail of bullets at the garbage bags. Yftah threw himself over two sisters who had also hidden in the container, trying to shield them. One perished, the other survived to tell the tale.

In the end, nine festival-goers died in the container, which was later repositioned on the Nova site as a memorial, riddled with numerous bullet holes.

Daniel was more fortunate. Alongside his brother, he managed to hold off the terrorists for nearly five hours. Dozens of young people who had gathered behind the armored vehicle owed their lives to them.

Around half past twelve noon, Daniel, his brother, and the others by the tank were rescued by the military. About forty minutes after Yftah and the others in the container had been shot dead.

Life and death were very close that day, as Daniel realizes. He has since decided not to study in the United States, but in Israel, close to his friends who are still alive.

He does not know what the future holds. 'I want to believe that we will dance again, as they say here; but for now, we are still dancing in blood.'