How 3 people saved Kibbutz Sufa on October 7th

Zohar Hubara, a paramedic and father, was forced to declare the death of his son, Maj. (res.) Ido Hubara, 36, during the October 7, 2023, attack on Kibbutz Sufa, near the Gaza border. “I gave him first aid like a robot,” Zohar told *Ynet*. “I ran to get an ambulance myself, but it was flat from gunfire to the tires. After an hour of treatment and resuscitation, I had to declare his death.” The harrowing account emerged from an IDF investigation released Monday into the battle, which highlighted the critical role of the kibbutz’s rapid response team in preventing a greater tragedy.

The IDF report detailed how Sufa’s small, undertrained rapid response team, including Ido, stopped a larger disaster when dozens of terrorists attacked the kibbutz in the Eshkol Regional Council. Facing about 30 terrorists firing from the northern orchards, the three-member civilian team, led by Ido, returned fire despite being outnumbered and outgunned. Ido was critically wounded in the exchange and later died. He was recognized posthumously as an IDF fallen soldier and response team member. Two other kibbutz members, Maj. (res.) Ofir Erez, 57, and Bernard Cohen, 57, were also killed.

“Ido was a deeply principled person who loved people from a young age,” said Zohar. Born and raised in Sufa, Ido surprised his father by choosing combat service, later becoming an officer after an injury in the Second Lebanon War delayed his path. “He wanted to be an officer who gives everything he didn’t receive,” Zohar said. After his service, Ido studied systems engineering at Ben-Gurion University, where he met his wife, Noa, and became a father to Guy, Gal, and Goni. He worked as a development team leader at BMI and was “an exemplary family man.”

On October 7, Zohar, Ido’s family, and his daughter Naama’s family were in separate homes in the kibbutz. After rocket fire and gunfire erupted, Zohar heard Arabic voices around his house and received messages about attacks on nearby Be’eri. Leaving his family in the safe room, he took a pistol to guard his home’s entrances. Ido, eager to act, joined the response team. “They pinned the terrorists down, using every bullet wisely,” Zohar said, crediting the team with saving the kibbutz.

When Zohar learned of Ido’s injury, he rushed to the scene with 35 years of paramedic experience. “I saw Ido with a severe head injury,” he said. With no help from Magen David Adom, who told him, “You’re on your own,” Zohar worked alone. “The sense of isolation and helplessness is paralyzing,” he said. After declaring Ido’s death, he faced telling his family. “My grandson asked, ‘Saba, why did you come back and Abba didn’t?’ That question echoes in my head. It’s a trauma I don’t know how to address.”

Zohar praised Ido’s courage: “He couldn’t hide at home during something terrible, even without a weapon.” He criticized the IDF for delaying their response team applications and for declaring “no security impediment” to return residents to Sufa amid ongoing war noises. “We don’t see confidence-building steps after losing our sense of security,” he said, urging the return of hostages as the path to recovery: “They must be brought back at all costs, for them, their families, and the conscience of this nation.”

Noa, Ido’s wife, shared her pain in a November 2023 *Ynet* interview, describing the evacuation to Eilat with their children as “two tragedies, Ido’s loss and being refugees in a war.” On October 7, she encouraged Ido to join the response team. “His last message was, ‘I’m going out, I have a weapon,’” she said. “He didn’t have to go. It was a choice. I had no idea there were so many terrorists outside.” At 6:30 PM, Zohar delivered the devastating news. “He didn’t say the words,” Noa recalled. “I asked, ‘Is Ido dead?’ He just nodded.”

Kibbutz Sufa’s statement on the IDF investigation read: “On October 7, 2023, dozens of rockets were fired at the kibbutz, and terrorists tried to massacre residents. The security coordinator’s alertness and the response team’s determination prevented a major disaster. We lost three dear members, Bernard Cohen, Ofir Erez, and Ido Chovera, may their memories be a blessing.”