Police officer who saved civilians in southern Israel on Oct. 7 dies after illness

A policeman who fought terrorists and saved civilians during the October 7 massacre died in the hospital on Saturday, police said in a statement.

Command Sgt. Maj. Itamar Alus died of an unspecified disease, according to Hebrew media.

Alus, an officer at the Netivot police station, left his home in southern Israel’s Ofakim with his handgun on October 7, 2023, upon hearing gunshots outside.

He then fought terrorists in the city and assisted the injured.

“God touched me that day,” he later told visitors in a YouTube video recounting October 7.

“We didn’t know what we were walking into that Saturday,” Alus recounted to Ynet in 2024. “Fifteen terrorists entered Ofakim in two pickup trucks.”

He continued, “I run home and grab my handgun. My wife stopped me — ‘Where are you going?’ I told her, ‘There’s gunfire outside, I’m going to check it out.’”

He soon encountered three gunmen firing at civilians, he told Arutz 2000 in a separate interview. He fired at the terrorists, hitting one in the leg and causing the other two to fire at him, which allowed the civilians to escape.

Alus said he then found a rabbi he knew, injured on the ground, who told him there was a terrorist in a nearby bomb shelter. Upon entering the shelter, he found a woman hiding with her husband, who had apparently been shot. Alus said he ripped off a part of the man’s shirt and tied it around his arm to stop the bleeding before leading the two to safety.

Alus then returned to the rabbi but encountered a terrorist. “The terrorist fired at me, and I was completely exposed, like this. I jumped on top of the rabbi, while hearing the bullets whistling past. Everything around us was full of bullets, and I shut my eyes and waited to get hit by a bullet.”

When he opened his eyes, Alus saw the bullets had hit the ground centimeters from him. He then took the rabbi into a nearby home and treated him.

Shortly afterward, Alus was again shot at by a terrorist, forcing him to retreat behind a wall. The terrorist threw a grenade toward him, which he said he did not notice. It exploded near him, but he was miraculously unscathed.

He then found another man injured in the street and drove him in a neighbor’s car to Soroka Hospital. Afterward, he returned to Ofakim, where he engaged in another battle with a terrorist before killing him.

“I have no doubt that God protected me that day,” he said. “You don’t comprehend the miracles in real time, days after you understand.”

Police have said Alus’s actions saved many lives on that day.

Following Alus’s death, Police Commissioner Dani Levy put out a statement saying the force “bows its head and shares in the deep sorrow of the Alus family. Itamar, of blessed memory, was a symbol of courage, of values, and of a readiness to confront danger — a model police officer and public servant.”

Alus was given the rank of senior staff sergeant major for his courage at a ceremony for outstanding police officers held this past Rosh Hashanah in September. His rank was raised posthumously to senior non-commissioned officer by recommendation of his commanders.

The October 7 massacre saw Hamas-led terrorists invade Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251. The body of one hostage, Ran Gvili, remains in Gaza.

Fifteen Hamas terrorists from the terror group’s elite Nukhba force infiltrated Ofakim early that morning and launched a brutal assault, murdering 25 civilians and injuring several others.

Eight members of the security forces — including police officers and IDF personnel — were killed in the battle. All 15 terrorists who entered the city were killed during or shortly after the fighting.

An internal IDF investigation published in July 2025 concluded that the massacre in Ofakim was halted quickly due to the courage and initiative of local police officers, armed civilians and a handful of soldiers.