Uri Russo

Engineer killed six terrorists from his bicycle. Slain while defending Kibbutz Kfar Aza from a Hamas invasion on October 7.

Uri Shimon Russo, 44, was murdered while defending Kibbutz Kfar Aza from terrorists during the initial Hamas assault on October 7.

Russo, a mechanical engineer, was a member of the on-call security team at Kfar Aza and went out to defend the kibbutz when it was attacked by Hamas. He was able to kill six attackers before he was gunned down. He was posthumously recognized as a fallen soldier by the IDF with a rank of major in the reserves.

His funeral was held in Modiin on October 15 and he was laid to rest in Ein Habesor. He is survived by his wife, Dafna, their three daughters, Maya, Alona and Ye’ela, his parents, Pnina and Yosef and his siblings Sagit, Maayan and Yehonatan.

“He went out immediately with his personal weapon like a hero, on a bicycle, to fight,” his wife Dafna told the Times of Israel. His pistol was found later. Six shots had been fired, and the bodies of six dead terrorists were found in the immediate area, she said.

His wife and their three daughters, Maya, 13, Alona, 11, and Ye’ela, 9, hid in the family safe room for 14 hours while the fighting raged and the Hamas gunmen rampaged through the kibbutz, murdering many of their neighbors.

After the initial fighting, Hamas gunmen holed up in the kibbutz and the IDF was still clearing them out the next day. In the subsequent sweep of the destroyed community, Russo’s body was discovered and his funeral was held on October 15.

“Uri had a golden heart, he never said no. He was my life, he was my soulmate,” Dafna Russo said.