Professor Eitan Okun is an Alzheimer researcher at the Bar Ilan University Brain Research Center, who lives on Kibbutz Alumim with his family. He is a member of the kibbutz security team. On the morning of the attack, his family and he entered their home safety room. However, upon hearing light arm shooting, and despite the pleading of his children, he left the house to join the security team. They were able to evacuate one of their wounded members, Amichai Shaham. Upon a second attempt by the terrorists to break into the kibbutz, wounding two, the security team was able to eliminated a number of terrorists, and exploited a break in the shooting to evacuate their wounded. The first IDF forces arrived on the scene after five hours – first the Prison Service Massada riot control tea, followed the IDF Engineering Corps Yahalom special ops forces. Fighting lasted well into the night, but thanks to the initial operation of the Kibbutz Alumim security team the terrorist were not able to break into the kibbutz and wreak the carnage that befell other Kibbutzim.
