A young Israeli woman is being hailed as a hero after her early action helped to save an entire kibbutz from being brutally killed by Hamas terrorists.
Inbal Lieberman, the security coordinator of Kibbutz Nir Am since December 2022, is being credited with leading a group of residents to kill more than two dozen oncoming terrorists, as well as killing five herself, the New York Post reported.
Lieberman reportedly heard explosions early Saturday morning when Hamas launched its horrific terrorist attack on Israel, Walla reported. She quickly assessed that the sounds were different from “the usual rocket attacks on the kibbutz,” which is situated near Sderot, close to the Gaza Strip, according to the report.
Lieberman then rushed to open the armory, passed out guns to a 12-member security team, and planned their response to the imminent Hamas attack.
“She placed her squad of kibbutzniks in strategic positions across the settlement and set up ambushes that caught the gunmen off guard and turned the tables on them during their mission to inflict mass casualties,” the Post reported.
Lieberman killed five terrorists on her own, while her security team took out at least 20 more over a period of four hours. Together, they “turned Nir Am into an impenetrable fortress, while nearby kibbutzim suffered heavy losses,” the Post reported, citing Walla News.
In a comment to the news outlet Israel Hayom, Ilit Paz, the cultural coordinator at Nir Am, said Lieberman’s leadership was “amazing” and that her husband “was part of the standby unit that worked to prevent more casualties.”
“They heard the shots and made contact on their own with other members of the standby unit and with Inbal — and they understood that they were told to be on standby,” Paz said. “But Inbal made a decision not to wait and jumped operationally. In fact, the fact that they did it early prevented dozens of casualties.”
A social media post from ILTV Israel contended Lieberman “will receive the Israel Prize…[w]hen it’s all over,” which is state’s highest cultural honor.
“The story of her heroism is a story that will enter the Israeli myth for generations,” the post reads. “Inbal is the reason that there is one kibbutz in the entire surrounding area that remains unscathed. Kibbutz Nir Am.”
Hamas launched the terror attack on Israel early Saturday and has thus far killed more than 1,100 and injured more than 3,400 people, according to reports. The attack occurred on the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret, the last festival of the High Holy Day cycle.
More than 100 Israelis were also kidnapped to Gaza — including women, children, and the elderly, many of whom were abused during their abductions. The Palestinian terror attack against Israel has been referred to as the “worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.”
In response to the attack, the Israeli Airforce has struck at least 1,000 terror targets in Gaza. Israel has also mobilized 300,000 reservists in the past 48 hours, as its forces continue strikes against Hamas terror targets in Gaza.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed during a White House press conference Tuesday that at least 20 Americans are unaccounted for in Israel. He also confirmed that the number of Americans killed has risen to 14.
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