A remarkable story of heroism unfolded at Moshav Yakhini on October 7 when Border Police officers prevented a major kidnapping operation, with assistance from the community's security chief who opened gates remotely from his Thailand vacation, culminating in firefights that saved two women but cost fighter Ravit Assayag her life.
The attack began when terrorists breached the community and gained control of routes to Netivot, but their plans were thwarted by Deputy Chief Inspector Eran Kalimi, who rushed from his nearby home in Tekuma to engage the attackers in close combat.
In an unusual twist, the moshav's security chief managed to assist the operation remotely, opening community gates via video call from his vacation in Thailand. The ensuing battles involving Border Police and Special Patrol Unit forces successfully prevented mass casualties, though the operation tragically claimed the life of fighter Ravit Assayag during a rescue mission.
Video: The fighting at Yakhini on Oct. 7 / Credit: IDF
Despite terrorists hijacking Border Police vehicles and wounding multiple officers, all attackers were eliminated by noon, preventing additional massacres.
Deputy Chief Inspector Eran Kalimi, currently serving as commander of the Border Police Counter-Terrorism Warfare School, responded immediately from his residence in Moshav Tekuma, located approximately 1.9 miles from the attack site. Following the automatic alert broadcast at 6:52 a.m., Kalimi quickly assembled his team and established a staging area in Sderot.
During his approach to Yakhini, Kalimi encountered what initially appeared to be a traffic accident involving a white vehicle positioned against the traffic island. Local civilians informed him that the driver had sustained shrapnel wounds with an entry point below the waist. "While continuing toward Sderot under rocket alerts, I observed approximately 15 vehicles traveling against traffic at the city entrance," Kalimi recounted. "The drivers were hunched over their steering wheels, and I immediately recognized something extraordinary was occurring."
After executing a tactical turnaround, Kalimi reached Yakhini's main entrance gate. "Upon closer inspection, I determined the driver had been shot, not injured by shrapnel, indicating we were facing a hostile encounter," he explained. "I then heard screaming from the gate area." Kalimi deployed three officers while leaving a medic to provide medical assistance to the wounded driver.
"We advanced toward the gate and observed terrorists extracting two young women while holding Kalashnikov rifles to their heads," Kalimi described. "We engaged the terrorists with direct fire, forcing them to abandon their hostages and return fire."
Within thirty seconds of the engagement, Kalimi sustained his first gunshot wound to the right shoulder. "The attackers retreated into Yakhini's interior, taking defensive positions behind the gate while deploying explosives and grenades against our position," he detailed. "We immediately moved to secure the hostages and began tactical questioning. An IDF Maglan special forces officer subsequently joined our operation." Following examination of the terrorists' abandoned vehicle, Kalimi's team discovered additional Kalashnikov rifles and executed a flanking maneuver around the gate position.
"We identified a secondary gate approximately 21 yards from the primary yellow gate. Fortunately, this gate remained open," Kalimi noted. "The terrorists had positioned themselves defensively behind the main gate, but upon detecting our presence, they penetrated deeper into the community." Despite receiving concentrated enemy fire, Kalimi's forces maintained their positions until reinforcements could arrive.
A community resident informed the officers that no weapons were available within the settlement, strengthening their resolve to maintain defensive positions. During subsequent combat operations, the Maglan officer sustained gunshot wounds to his right wrist and shoulder, requiring immediate medical attention and weapon redistribution.
Even as ammunition supplies dwindled, Kalimi's team continued their resistance. "We implemented tactical deception, firing controlled single shots to maintain engagement while conserving ammunition," he explained. Despite sustaining a second gunshot wound to his left leg, Kalimi refused evacuation orders. "We maintained our defensive positions for several additional minutes until reinforcement units arrived," he stated. "At that point, I secured weapons from the terrorists' vehicle, concealed them in nearby vegetation, evacuated the rescued hostages to medical facilities at Soroka Hospital."
Video: Fighter Ravit Assayag's funeral / Credit: Israel Police
Commander Y. from the Israel Police Special Counterterrorism Unit realized the severity of the situation and immediately mobilized his team toward Sderot. En route, intelligence reports indicated ten terrorists operating in the Netiv HaAsara vicinity. Upon approaching Yakhini, his unit also encountered the damaged white vehicle and questioned local civilians about terrorist presence, receiving negative responses.
"At 7:28 a.m., I reached the Negev gate checkpoint and established an ambush position," Y. reported. "Initial visual contact suggested the presence of uniformed personnel, but closer observation revealed suspicious ground-level activity consistent with explosive device placement, confirming terrorist identification." Following immediate tactical withdrawal, enemy forces opened fire. "I deployed from the vehicle with sidearm and engaged the terrorists, though they maintained distance rather than closing for direct combat."
The commander's route continued through the Gevim area, where he discovered vehicles containing casualties. During grove reconnaissance, he encountered two terrorists, successfully eliminating one while the second escaped. Returning to the main road, he identified an abandoned vehicle later determined to belong to a Shin Bet coordinator and proceeded toward Yakhini's entrance without awareness of the ongoing internal battle. The team subsequently observed a hijacked Border Police vehicle operated by terrorists.
"We pursued the stolen vehicle to Yakhini's perimeter," Platoon Commander Y explained. "The terrorists reduced speed while firing through windows toward the gate, successfully wounding several police officers before dismounting south of the community." Working alongside a courageous civilian volunteer, the team engaged the terrorists and eliminated three attackers.
Despite attempts to neutralize the remaining two terrorists, they successfully commandeered the Shin Bet coordinator's vehicle and fled south toward Netivot, where they were subsequently eliminated. An explosion occurred within Yakhini at 8:20 a.m., coinciding with the presence of a General Staff Reconnaissance Unit team that had been diverted from another mission due to casualties sustained at a nearby intersection.
"Residents directed us to a house containing terrorists," Y, continued. "As the unit commander and I approached the residential compound, coordinated fire erupted from multiple positions including a nearby orchard and residential caravans." The engagement resulted in leg wounds and pelvic shrapnel for the platoon commander, while seriously injuring a General Staff Reconnaissance Unit fighter.
Inspector Eden Cohen, a career Border Police officer serving with the Rotem Counter-Terrorism Division, deployed to Yakhini while two unit teams were already engaged in combat operations. Community residents provided civilian drone capabilities, which were transferred to Special Patrol Unit forces for enhanced situational awareness. Drone reconnaissance confirmed ongoing combat operations in adjacent olive groves before forces proceeded to barn facilities for tactical assessment.
"I identified an abandoned storage facility and decided to investigate a nearby warehouse structure," Cohen described. "The warehouse contained interior rooms with plywood partitions, but after several steps, I detected suspicious sounds and withdrew to assess the threat level."
Assayag accompanied Cohen in the warehouse investigation, a decision that proved fateful. "Upon reaching the plywood partition, enemy fire erupted toward our position," Cohen recounted. "Two rounds struck Ravit, who fell immediately. Special forces subsequently entered and eliminated the terrorist."
A., a Yamam officer, took an armored vehicle from the unit and headed south toward the Beit Kama intersection. They already understood a major incident was occurring. At Beit Kama, the dispatcher asked to drive to Yakhini because they couldn't find Y., the deputy commander.
"We reached the settlement, noticed three dead terrorists, and received a report that there were terrorists in the settlement and forces inside," A. said. "We entered the settlement. The community security coordinator, who was at that time on vacation in Thailand, opened the yellow gate for us." In the community, they connected with the force that was in the grove where terrorists were present.
"We took our armored vehicle for a sweep and also to create provocation so they would shoot at us," he described. "When we entered the grove, we identified two terrorists lying on their backs. When they spotted us, they fired at us. We created a kind of pressure cooker on the grove. At some point, using the drone, we identified the terrorists and eliminated them."
O., a Yamam officer, continued with the forces to the cattle shed. They understood there was another terrorist hiding in a nearby trailer and fired toward the trailer for about four minutes. When they understood that Assayag was in the trailer and there was probably a terrorist with her, O. thought there was a chance to get her out.
"We began moving toward the door," he recounted. "I identified Revital sitting on the ground without signs of life. I identified the wooden plywood and decided to clear everything it was hiding. Then the picture I see before my eyes is a terrorist lying on his back with a weapon in ready position, who was waiting for me there. Somehow he saw my head from a distance of about 3.3 feet (one meter). He fired a burst that grazed my cheek."
At this point, O. said, the terrorist stopped firing. "I shot toward him," he said. "We killed him and extracted Revital."
According to the investigation, the cell that was eliminated in Yakhini controlled the entire route between Gevim and Netivot and carried out a killing spree from a checkpoint they established on the road, through which they murdered civilians who passed by in vehicles.
Inspector Eden Cohen spoke about Assayag with pain and admiration. "From the unit's perspective, she was special. You don't see such a real fighter every day," he said. "Before enlistment, she played guitar for patients in hospitals and raised their morale. That's exactly what she did in the unit. She would organize campfire evenings and play guitar. She didn't give up on herself. She was a fighter by nature and showed everyone what it means to be a fighter. She served as a personal example."
"The value of charging into contact was an important value for her. She wanted to be an officer. Thanks to her and thanks to the force that fought in Yakhini, we prevented an entire massacre in the community. Physically, with her body, she protected the place."
