Not expecting anything too dramatic, he crawled out of bed in Ortal in the Golan Heights, and headed north, leaving behind his wife and children. He reached Odem, the kibbutz where he serves as general manager, and made sure the community was prepared for any emergencies that could arise.
When Josh (the IDF asked that last names and unit’s location not be used), who also commands a tank company as a reserve captain, arrived back home, he received another call, this one telling him to report to his brigade’s base.
The scale of the catastrophe wasn’t entirely clear yet, and he and the other company commanders didn’t know if their units would be called up. They started discussing missions they might receive until 4:30 p.m., when the brigade was mobilized. Josh’s company began to stream toward the base.
Dror, a 29-year-old 12th-grade teacher in a religious boys’ school, was in Kibbutz Hispin in the Golan Heights with his wife and daughter on October 7 celebrating the Simhat Torah holiday. News of the attack was sparse in the religious community, but he noticed reservists slowly being called up throughout the day. READ MORE