An interview with Oz Davidian, the quiet hero of October 7

Oz Davidian rescues partygoers from the Nova music festival, October 7, 2023.

Heroes of Israeli society emerged on the morning of October 7. They jumped in to save the lives of hundreds of terrified young people who fled the Nova music festival as Hamas terrorists began their killing spree.

Many of the young people were caught and killed in the hours before Israeli forces were able to fight off the terrorists and regain control over the area. By the time they did, 364 people had been killed and about 40 others had been kidnapped from the festival grounds.

Some brave civilians chose to risk their own lives to try to rescue fleeing and injured festivalgoers, even before any military support arrived. One such was attorney Oz Davidian, 57, of Moshav Maslul, who had worked as a farmer in the area for years and knew the terrain and the back roads well. Alone in his pickup truck, he managed to rescue some 120 festivalgoers, and has become a national hero.

The Media Line’s Felice Friedson spoke with Oz Davidian about the events of that terrible day.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanks Oz Davidian for his heroism. (credit: Courtesy Oz Davidian)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanks Oz Davidian for his heroism. (credit: Courtesy Oz Davidian)

TML: Tell me what happened on the morning of October 7.

Oz Davidian: We awoke to a rocket attack, and then, after we understood that there was an attack unusual in scope, I received a WhatsApp message from my sister, who lives quite close to the area where the [Nova] party took place. She asked for my help since there were wounded children.

I went to the party area and encountered people running to-and-fro and crying. I asked them what happened and where they were running from, and they told me where the party had taken place and that there are hundreds of terrorists in the area and lots of murdered [people], that there are bodies everywhere. And they had managed to escape.

My brother, sister, and other family members who weren’t far from there, I told them to take back with them whoever they could find toward the direction of the moshav, while I would go toward the party area to pick up whoever was left remaining there. That is basically how I started that Sabbath. With the pickups, I made rounds and then returned. That’s how it was from the morning until night set in. Round after round of pickups. One group of kids after another. That’s how it was the entire day until I no longer saw anyone alive remaining to pick up.

TML: When you think today about what happened on that catastrophic day, do you think you would have done the same thing over again?

Oz Davidian: Yes. I think that I wouldn’t change a thing. These kids needed help. There was no one available to help them. Just like I did it then, I would do it again today, or if any other opportunity such as that should arise, since we needed to save them. There was no one else available to do it instead of us.

TML: And that is truly the main question. Why weren’t there army personnel there in the field to help them?

Oz Davidian: They [the terrorists] surprised us. They surprised us at many sites. It’s true that there weren’t any [military] forces in the area of the party. There weren’t a lot of forces in readiness [on that day, a Jewish holiday]. There were many sites where the terrorists surprised us, and because of that there was difficulty [reaching and tending to the victims].

It took some hours until the army arrived and began rescuing victims and fighting off the terrorists. There were many sites [of attack]. At every kibbutz the army arrived at, there were hostage situations, and each incident such as these needs massive amounts of army personnel. Therefore, it took many hours, until ultimately the army had control over everything.

TML: The Bedouins were also there, and today we are honoring the Bedouins for their heroic actions. Did you see them there amongst all the commotion?

Oz Davidian: So, yes, I encountered Bedouins there at the party area and met them while I was rescuing people. They saw me rescuing people, and I saw where they were and how they were assisting others over there. This day affected the Bedouins, not only those who were involved in the rescue effort, but also those who were tending their flock of sheep near the Gaza border who were shot at [by the terrorists], murdered, and had their sheep stolen.

There were Bedouins who worked in kibbutzim who were also kidnapped and murdered. The terrorists didn’t distinguish between who they shot, if it was a Bedouin person or a Jew or a rich or poor person. They simply shot at anyone they encountered there. And yes, they butchered Bedouins, and, as you heard before, there were 21 murdered Bedouins and five [Bedouins] who were kidnapped, with hundreds more wounded.

They are simply heroes, heroes of Israel who fought alongside us hand-to-hand and shoulder-to-shoulder on that Sabbath from early morning until the late hours of the night.

TML: You saved a lot of people. It’s more than 120 persons. That’s a lot of people. Is there a story that each night you think about in retrospect as the one that symbolizes what happened that fateful day?

Oz Davidian: Each person is a world unto themselves. It’s a complete world. Indeed, it’s 120 people, but each one is a world unto themselves. There are 120 of them. We have a WhatsApp group, and yes, all of us are in this group and interact with one another on a frequent basis. We maintain almost a daily correspondence. I’m their [adopted] father. They call me Dad, “Abush,” and send me messages, and I meet up with them whether it’s at their house or student dormitories or wherever they happen to be at the time. Indeed, we look out for each other. At the end of the day, this unity and togetherness is what lifts up our spirits.

TML: Today, do you feel that you live in a security-compromised area?

Oz Davidian: Are you asking if I feel secure where I live?

TML: Yes.

Oz Davidian: First of all, the security is restored because of the war the IDF is currently fighting in Gaza, in all areas of Gaza, in the north and center; now they have headed south [toward Khan Yunis and Rafah]. So, yes, we see it in the [diminished] number of rockets. The IDF is there and is fighting all day and therefore we don’t see any more terrorists who can possibly pop up on us as was the case beforehand, not even one.

There is barely rocket fire at us now. There is hardly any incident now, and therefore you feel this security. It will take some time. It won’t be finished in a day. It will take some more time until the security is [entirely] restored, but there are IDF troops in Gaza and also in the periphery border areas who are providing a continuous security deterrent.

TML: There were kids as well as adults, a lot of people of all ages whom you saved. When you were in the car with them, what did you ask them? What did you want to know from them? There wasn’t a lot of time to have a discussion with them.

Oz Davidian: There wasn’t a lot of time [to talk to them]. I also didn’t want to talk to them excessively, and the only thing I knew is that their parents were worried about them. So I gave them my phone number so that when we were in a safe area and out of the danger zone they could then call, roughly a kilometer from the area of the [Nova] party, and we were headed toward the moshavim, toward the rescue area[s]. I gave them my phone number so that they could call their parents to let them know that they were OK. And that’s how their families have my phone number. And from the next rounds of pickups that came afterward, I then received the locations of the kids still left behind in the field since they now have my phone number and they’re sending each other their locations by WhatsApp. And that’s how, toward noon and the evening when I couldn’t find anyone else anymore, I searched by location [on WhatsApp] and found more kids.

TML: People call you a hero of Israel. What does this mean to you?

Oz Davidian: I don’t think that I’m a hero different than anyone else. I think that the heroes are these kids. They were the ones who were in the chaos and firing zone the entire day. I was the messenger sent to rescue them and return them home. I had the privilege to be successful at that.