On Oct. 7th, the Hamas terror organization launched a brutal, premeditated assault on Israel. Without mercy or remorse, they murdered and kidnapped hundreds of innocent civilians, including the elderly, women, and children.
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They infiltrated peaceful towns, setting homes ablaze and subjecting families to the horrors of abduction, annihilation, and unfathomable variations of torture and cruelty. They continued their massacre to a vibrant music festival, claiming the lives of hundreds of individuals.
The October7.org website gathered the testimonies of survivors who bore witness to the unspeakable terrors of that day. These are some of their stories.
Warning: Some of these stories are extremely difficult and describe war crimes involving violence, rape, and brutality. Reader discretion is advised.
How did it all start?
I was the officer on duty over the weekend with just 13 soldiers on the Urim Southern District Base. Everything was quiet and peaceful as usual.
At 6:30 in the morning, there were sirens and missiles, so we ran straight to the migunit [concrete doorless bomb shelter] in the dormitories, in flip flops, pajamas, and with a weapon. We waited there a bit and then started to hear rumors that terrorists had infiltrated, but we didn't believe it. But then we started to hear shots being fired.
We decided that we wouldn't stay put in the migunit and we ran to the Operations Room, the most protected area on the base.
At first, those already inside wouldn't open the door of the Operations Room for me because they had already closed it, and likely because they were also scared of the terrorists who were behind me. I had no choice but to go outside again and run to the back entrance of the Operations Room. Then, they opened the door for me there. When I got inside, we bandaged my leg with a shirt from one of the Operations Sergeants and we waited to be rescued. Unfortunately, rescue was nowhere on the horizon.
Then we started to hear the terrorists detonating explosives around the Operations Room as they attempted to get inside. For half an hour we heard shooting and grenades. All we could do was pray for the best. They got through door after door, until the only door left was the one that separated us from them. All this time we were hiding under a table, one on top of the other.
I started sending goodbye messages to all of my loved ones.
They blew up the last door, came into the room, and shot a volley of bullets at us without pause, screaming. When they were done, they waited a little, spoke in Arabic, searched for documents, checked that we were dead, and then left.
I lay there bleeding between the bodies of my friends, when suddenly I felt someone breathing. It was my friend Sahar. We waited there for 4 hours together until rescue arrived, during which time she took off her uniform to give me first aid. I began to touch my whole body to see where I was hit, how much I was bleeding, and how much time I had left to live. I felt like I was dying.
Then after four hours of playing dead, while I was in so much pain that I couldn't say a word, angels came to save me. They took me to Soroka hospital [in Beersheba] and on the way I immediately asked to call my family and tell them that I was alive against all odds!
First, I was taken to the ER. Then I was moved to Shaare Zedek [Medical Center in Jerusalem] where I had 2 operations. After 2 weeks, I was transferred to Tel Hashomer [in Ramat Gan] for rehabilitation.
I had been shot 12 times — bullets in my legs, my left hand and my shoulder. I thank God who watched over me and was with me in that room. I still can't believe that I am here, that I am alive, and God willing I should be able to regain full function.
It is simply a miracle.
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