Uri Russo

Uri Russo, 44, was murdered while defending Kibbutz Kfar Aza from terrorists during the initial Hamas assault on October 7.

Russo, a mechanical engineer, was a member of the on-call security team at Kfar Aza and went out to defend the kibbutz when it was attacked by Hamas. He was able to kill six attackers before he was gunned down.

“He went out immediately with his personal weapon like a hero, on a bicycle, to fight,” his wife Dafna told the Times of Israel. His pistol was found later. Six shots had been fired, and the bodies of six dead terrorists were found in the immediate area, she said.

His wife and their three daughters, Maya, 13, Alona, 11, and Ye’ela, 9, hid in the family safe room for 14 hours while the fighting raged and the Hamas gunmen rampaged through the kibbutz, murdering many of their neighbors. Kfar Aza, just three kilometers from Gaza, saw some of the worst brutality during that day of pogroms. Over 100 people were killed, some 25 percent of the population, and by some reports, over 70 were taken prisoner by Hamas.

After the initial fighting, Hamas gunmen holed up in the kibbutz and the IDF was still clearing them out the next day. In the subsequent sweep of the destroyed community, Russo’s body was discovered and his funeral was held on October 15.

“Uri had a golden heart, he never said no. He was my life, he was my soulmate,” Dafna Russo said.
Source: The Times of Israel