On Saturday October 7th, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel's southern border, kidnapping and murdering many Israelis. It took many hours for people to understand the full scale of what was happening that day, the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.

Rami Davidian, a civilian, recalls in an interview with Israel National News - Arutz Sheva: "At 6.45 in the morning I received a phone call from a friend, asking me to go out and help him rescue his friend's son from a party. I was getting ready to go to the synagogue. I took off my kippah and talit and raced to the landmark he gave me."

"At the entrance to my town I saw two expensive bicycles with three fingers on the road next to them. For a moment I thought it was a car accident. I picked up the fingers, put them in a bag, and placed them on the security rail on the side of the road. I called my son-in-law and said to him, 'I found some bicycles on the road. Come get them and post on Facebook to see who they belong to.'"

Even at his next stop, Rami still did not comprehend the magnitude of what was going on. "I continued towards the place my friend sent me and on the way I saw a burning car and the people inside had been shot. I thought it might be someone settling accounts between the Bedouins."

This is where he began a long rescue mission: "After a little over a kilometer later I saw a mass of youngsters, running everywhere, scared, tired, exhausted. I shouted to them, 'Come here.’ I hugged them and told them they are in a safe place. I continued to my next location, where I rescued the youngsters that I was initially told about. After another kilometer or so, I saw them huddling under a bush, scared. I shouted to them, 'It's Rami,' and they came out to me, hugging each other. There's room for five in my car, but we managed to get 15 in. I drove as fast as I could towards my house. On the way, they started telling me about terrorists shooting. They asked me to go back to rescue their friends. I asked them to send the location and I rushed off to the next place. I was not armed at all and I was alone."

"The next target was more complicated because they were in and around an orchard and there were terrorists running around there. I was working out how to get the girls out. I looked up to the heaven and asked God for help. That's how I managed to get the girls out," he adds.

In one case, while rescuing a girl named Amit, he found himself within arm’s length from the terrorists: "Amit’s rescue was much more difficult. She sent me her location but disappeared in the process. I spoke to her on the phone and her voice was weakening. About five minutes later I realized that I was close to her but when I got there, I was numb. She was being held by six terrorists."

"At that point I felt the hand of God touching me. I started speaking in Arabic, I told them I was a Muslim from Rahat and we started talking. I told them we should run because the soldiers would be there in a moment and I asked for the girl. They agreed and I took Amit with me. I told her to get in the car. I hugged her all the way home. I called my wife and said that this was an unusual case and that she should hug Amit, because she was suffering from some kind of trauma."

And yet, he admits, the incident left him with deep mental scars: "Each rescue I did was much more difficult than the one before it. I saved many lives there and I am happy about it. I'm sad to say that I'm not the same Rami I was before that day. I think about those events and they haunt me. But we are strong. It will take time, and we will win."