October 7 testimony, Yosef Aziadna, Rahat and Nova Festival

Yosef Aziadna, 47, married and father of seven children, a member of the Ziadna tribe from Rahat, transport driver. On Friday night, he drove young people from Omer to a party in Re’im, planning to bring them home the following afternoon. At 6:00 a.m., they called him for help, and he set out under a barrage of rockets. As he made his way through the fields, he picked up 30 young people in a minibus designed to carry 14 passengers, evacuating them to Tze’elim and Omer. Since then, Yosef has received expressions of gratitude from citizens, survivors, and their parents. Asked about being called a “hero,” he says: “I didn’t asked for it and I didn’t expect anyone to call me a hero. I am Israeli, and they were Israelis… We are all human beings. I did what a human being should do.” His cousin was murdered at Zikim Beach, and four members of his family were kidnapped to Gaza. He also received a threatening phone call from a Hamas operative in Gaza because he had rescued Jews. Today, he is struggling with anxiety, sleeplessness and unemployment.