Saving lives on Death Street How an Israeli kindergarten teacher became a battlefield hero on Oct. 7

SOUTHERN ISRAEL – Tali Hadad is a 49-year-old mother of six and a kindergarten teacher whose days would normally be spent teaching basic reading, math and social skills to 5-year-olds.She never imagined that one day she would be forced to make life-or-death decisions while under fire in the middle of a war zone. But on Oct.

7, 2023, she was thrust into unimaginable circumstances.As Hamas launched its assault at 6:45 a.m., she awoke to the sound of sirens and gunfire in her hometown of Ofakim, a small, working-class city in southern Israel 15 miles from the border with Gaza.The piercing alarms that filled the air signaled this was not an ordinary rocket attack, to which much of the region had, over the course of many years, become accustomed.Hadad instantly knew her family was in grave danger.Her son, Itamar, a soldier in officer training, was home on leave for the weekend.

As the sounds of gunfire grew closer, he grabbed his rifle, fully aware that there was fighting just outside their door.Without hesitation, he ran toward the terrorists.

Hadad, still in her pajamas, quickly slipped on running shoes and chased after him, her instincts as a mother taking over.“I ran toward the playground,” Hadad told Fox News Digital.“I hid behind a wall and saw a line of terrorists walking with rifles, heading in the direction where my son had gone.” Moments later, she heard gunshots.

“I knew Itamar was in the middle of it.I waited, hoping he would come out, but he didn’t.

So, I ran toward him.”Dodging through alleys while gunfire rang out around her, Hadad saw the devastation unfold.“People were yelling from windows, begging for help,” she said.

“But there were no ambulances coming, no one to save them.”Then, she saw Itamar.He had been shot multiple times – in the stomach, leg and thigh.

Two of his comrades lay dead on the ground beside him.“He looked at me and said, ‘Mom, what are you doing here?’ I told him, ‘You’re hurt, I’m going...