After a harsh skirmish in Sderot on the morning of October 7, eight police officers from Israel’s MATPA arrived at Kibbutz Be’eri in two Caracal armored jeeps. They entered the kibbutz grounds but quickly entered a death trap. Dozens of terrorists ambushed them from the sides of the road. The first jeep, driven by Staff Sergeant Uriel Ouzan, spotted a terrorist and ran him down. Then the second jeep ran down a terrorist but immediately the jeeps came under heavy fire, including RPG rounds.
S/Sgt. Ouzan understood that some of his passengers were wounded, and behind him, he saw that the second jeep was also hit by an RPG. Some of the police officers fired back, and they eliminated 22 terrorists. But the terrorists were much greater in numbers and firepower, and only S/Sgt. Ouzan survived. The head of MATPA, Commander Eyal Raon, decided to send another squad, a third one, to rescue S/Sgt. Ouzan, and Ouzan was brought for treatment and rehabilitation, being wounded himself. In the incident, seven of the unit’s fighters fell: Chief Inspector Dan Ganot, Superintendent Vadim Blich, Sergeant 1st Class Uriel Shalom Elon, Staff Sergeant Gadif Mologota, First Sergeant Boris Danilov, Master Sergeant Eliran Abergil, and Staff Sergeant Dor Mengadi. Also killed in the battle for Be’eri was Chief Superintendent Avi Amar, a senior officer in the southern district. May they rest in peace.
