Police Detective Recounts Heroic Rescue of Roman Gofman on October 7
Staff Sergeant Adir Levy recounted his heroic rescue of then-Brigadier General Roman Gofman on October 7. Under intense gunfire, Levy administered first aid and evacuated Gofman before returning to the battlefield.
During the October 7, 2023 massacres, Staff Sergeant Adir Levy, a detective at the Netivot police station, rushed toward the Gaza envelope to fight, unaware of the scale of the onslaught he would face. While under heavy fire near the Negev Junction, Levy encountered and rescued Brigadier General Roman Gofman, who was severely wounded in combat. Gofman currently serves as the director of the Mossad.
Recalling the harrowing events during an interview on 103fm with Ben Caspit and Yinon Magal, Levy described how he deployed tactical instincts to save the senior officer. Initially responding to emergency alerts from his home in Ashkelon, Levy drove toward Netivot, unaware that terrorists had infiltrated multiple points along the highway. Near Sapir College, he encountered a Yasam border police team searching for infiltrators amid ongoing rocket sirens.
As the team advanced toward Sderot following reports of terrorists firing at a police cruiser, Levy's vehicle came under intense automatic gunfire. "I took cover behind the front wheel, trying to lift my head and figure out where the shooting was coming from," Levy recounted. Running low on ammunition with only five rounds left, he spotted a wounded soldier bleeding heavily on the ground and another kneeling in distress. Recognizing the severity of the situation, Levy crawled forward while providing covering fire and soon realized the wounded officer was a senior commander.
Levy called out for tourniquets under relentless enemy fire. A Yasam officer tossed him a tourniquet, and Levy rushed to apply it to Gofman to stem the massive blood loss. Realizing immediate evacuation was imperative, Levy maneuvered his vehicle closer to the line of fire, assisted by border police who provided suppressive fire. Despite warnings of incoming RPG fire, they managed to load Gofman into the vehicle.
After transferring Gofman to an emergency medical responder from United Hatzalah and directing him toward hospital care, Levy made the courageous decision to return to the battlefield. Knowing his comrades were still locked in fierce gunfights against overwhelming numbers of terrorists, he checked his remaining ammunition and drove back into the combat zone to support the Yasam forces until reinforcements arrived.
