WATCH: Elchanan’s Crew Saved Dozens In Kibbutz Beeri Before His Heroic Death

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Some of the heroes of October 7th will never be known, as they risked their lives in vain and did not succeed in saving their loved ones or others. Others succeeded in saving one or two people, but few can testify to saving dozens of lives with their heroic actions.

One such person, who unfortunately paid for the actions with his life, was Elchanan Kalmanson, the son of the Rosh Yeshiva of Otniel, Rabbi Benny Kalmanson. Otniel is in the southern Hevron hills, far from Gaza, but as soon as Elchanan, a seasoned IDF veteran aged 43, heard about the attacks in the kibbutzim near Gaza, he felt he had to help.

Taking with him his brother Menachem and nephew Itai, Elchanan raced down towards kibbutz Beeri, the epicenter of the fighting and scene of a bloody massacre. The “Elchanan Crew” arrived in the thick of the battle after being directed there by IDF officers and found an abandoned jeep with equipment. Quickly commandeering the jeep, they courageously drove into the kibbutz to rescue trapped people. At first nobody trusted them as the kibbutz was crawling with terrorists, but Elchanan’s Shma Yisrael convinced them and they jumped out of the safe rooms into the jeep which carried them out to IDF forces, sometimes with 11 people in a 4-person jeep.

Time and again Elchanan’s crew were fired on by terrorists but went back in again, bravely continuing their mission. For 14.5 hours, from 9 in the morning until after 11 at night, they continued to find people, singing Simchas Torah songs, saying Shma Yisrael to convince them to come out. In this way they saved over a hundred people.

Arriving at the last house they hadn’t gone into late at night, Elchanan’s crew were surprised by a terrorist who opened fire on them, mortally injuring Elchanan and injuring Menachem lightly. Elchanan died in the kibbutz where he had saved so many others.

May his memory be blessed.

Members of the kibbutz came to the shiva to explain emotionally how Elchanan had saved their lives.