Lt. Col. Tomer Greenberg, commander of Golani Brigade's 13th Battalion, fell in battle against Hamas terrorists in Shijaiyah on Tuesday. On Hamas’ massacre on October 7, Lt. Col. Greenberg saved twins, Guy and Roie Berdichevsky, whose parents, Itay and Hadas, were murdered by terrorists in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. On Tuesday, the twins celebrated their first birthday on the same day in which Lt. Col. Greenberg fell.
More stories:
During Hamas' attack, the two infants remained in the protected room in their home for 13 hours while their parents' bodies lay beside them. Their mother managed to prepare bottles for them for the duration of their stay in the protected room, but there was no one left in it to feed them. The terrorists exploited the babies' crying, using them as bait to draw IDF forces to the family home.
The terrorists used the Berdichevsky family home as a kind of food station before they continued on another killing spree. Hamas terrorists entered, sat on the balcony, and ate whatever they found in the house. They intentionally left the babies alive because they knew forces would come to save them. The trap lured forces who suffered injuries during the rescue attempts.
Eventually, soldiers from the Golani Brigade's 13th Battalion, under the command of Lt. Col. Greenberg, managed to rescue the babies. "Tomer didn’t give up for a moment; he fought his way to reach the babies," Inbar, Hadas’ brother, recounted.
"He and his soldiers took control of the terrorists, rescued Guy and Roie, and brought them to the brigade's armored vehicle and from there to the rescue forces and the hospital. I spoke with him afterward, and he told me that the two’s rescue was an important event for him and the battalion’s soldiers."
Inbar added, "Tomer promised me that when the fighting stopped, he would come to visit the babies he saved. Unfortunately, this won’t happen. It's incomprehensible; he was a hero in his life and his death. Many will talk about the battle in which he fell."
First published: 19:46, 12.14.23