Sergeant Major Yigal Singer was working as a guard at the Re’im festival. When artillery fire began, the police told the partygoers to flee by car in all directions, both toward Sderot and toward Ofakim. But the cars returned very quickly, with bullet holes, and the police understood that an invasion was under way. Over the PA system, Sgt. Maj. SInger called on everyone to follow his patrol car over the dirt roads leading to Netivot, and to ride in whatever car they could whether it was theirs or not. Dozens of cars drove after his patrol car, and some of the partygoers who couldn’t locate their cars ran behind on foot. Many escaped the shooting that way and reached Netivot.
Next, Sgt. Maj. Singer set about returning to the scene of battle to save those comrades who were left behind. He found a rifle and one magazine of bullets, and together with another policeman he started toward Re’im. There, terrorists attacked them with RPG fire. They joined three other police officers and together attacked terrorists at Re’im Junction while trying not to waste bullets. Singer hit a number of terrorists, and when his ammunition was gone he switched to a pistol and continued shooting from behind the door of his armored vehicle until a burst of gunfire hit both his legs. Seriously wounded, he was evacuated to a hospital and is now in rehabilitation.
