Nikita Soumrov and his son, Avi, had been among the many 1000’s of Israelis who had been attacked on the morning of Oct. 7, after Hamas gunmen surged into southern Israel from Gaza.
Roughly 1,400 folks had been killed — of their properties, in bomb shelters, at an out of doors rave.
Avi, 4, escaped by hiding in a closet.
He and plenty of different survivors stay traumatized by the expertise.
These are their tales.
“By means of the window, I might see the terrorists setting fireplace to the homes round us.” — Yossef Rozansky, 67
Yossef Rozansky and his spouse and daughter ran out to rescue a neighbor in Kibbutz Holit whose home was ablaze. Then they retreated to their very own protected room. A grenade exploded of their house. They braced the door. One other explosion wounded all eight members of the family inside. His daughter utilized a tourniquet to his leg. “I’m wounded,” he recalled, “sitting there hugging my granddaughter and everybody else sitting contained in the protected room, retaining very quiet and on a regular basis taking a look at their wounded grandmother and the blood spreading everywhere in the room.”
“It was like a capturing vary.” — Hila Fakliro, 26, who survived the Hamas assault on the Tribe of Nova music competition
Hila Fakliro, a health teacher, was tending bar on the Tribe of Nova music competition when she noticed what she thought had been fireworks. “I don’t assume these are fireworks,” a fellow bartender mentioned. They had been Hamas rockets. Quickly, males with weapons appeared amid the eucalyptus bushes the place revelers had simply been dancing. “There have been these loopy maniacs with weapons and folks falling one after the other,” Ms. Fakliro mentioned.
“It was the scariest day of my life.” — Stav Nitzan, 8, who hid for 12 hours in a protected room in Netiv Haasara
“Mother woke me up and simply mentioned ‘run to the protected room,’ and my dad took out his weapon and guarded our entrance door,”’ recalled Stav Nitzan, the youngest of three brothers. “I wanted to take a seat quietly in order that the terrorists didn’t break into our protected room. Each time I wished to step out, there was one other rocket.”
Lastly, the household was rescued with the assistance of their neighbor Benny, “who’s the bravest man on the earth, as a result of plenty of terrorists chased after him and he managed to rescue us, along with different dads,” Stav mentioned.
“I do know that we’ll all want quite a lot of psychological assist to outlive and return to our lives.” — Tami Cohen Shapira, 55, along with her husband, Patrick Cohen, 58, and their sons Gil, 18, and Dan, 15. Her son Ziv, 26, was killed making an attempt to flee the music competition.
“The final message I obtained from my mother that morning was that she cracked the pangram on Spelling Bee.” — Keren Flash, 34, along with her husband, Avidor Schwartzman, 37, and their daughter, Saar, 1. Her mom and father, Cindy and Yigal, had been killed close by within the kibbutz Kfar Aza.
“It was solely after we had been capable of get on the bus that evacuated us, we discovered of the miracle our household had.” – Avivit Gohn, 62, who lives in Kibbutz Be’eri. Fourteen of her family escaped, together with a nephew who was hit within the neck with an ax.
“The lady who was sitting proper in entrance of me was immediately shot and killed.” — Sheerel Gabay, 23, who escaped the music competition
Sheerel Gabay hid with mates and 30 or 40 others in a roadside bomb shelter close to Be’eri. Over seven hours, Hamas lobbed grenades and fired on the folks inside. She was shot within the knee and sustained two open fractures and a ruptured eardrum.
The girl who was shot in entrance of her fell backward, trapping Ms. Gabay below her lifeless physique. “I couldn’t transfer, and couldn’t cease considering that I’m lined by a lifeless lady,” she mentioned.
“I’ve been by many wars, however such a factor has by no means occurred earlier than.” — Lea Horowitz, 92, who was led to a protected room at her house in Kibbutz Nir Am by her helper, Jessica Noveno, 34
“We drove by the fields and we noticed vehicles with shattered home windows with folks nonetheless inside, however we managed to flee.” — Ori Sobo, 10, who was awake, planning a good friend’s birthday, when she fled in her pajamas along with her household of their automotive
“I used to be afraid the terrorists would hear her crying inside and storm in.” — Nir Sadan, 25, who tried to calm his mom after she acquired phrase of her brother’s loss of life whereas they had been hiding of their protected room within the kibbutz Mefalsim
“I imagine now we have a proper to be right here, however I additionally perceive that this isn’t solely my place, however additionally it is the place of one other folks.” — Roni Keidar, 79, along with her husband, Ovadia, 82
A longtime peace activist, Roni Keidar was receiving cellphone messages from mates in Gaza who had been nervous about her in the course of the assault as she took shelter of their protected room in Netiv Haasara, close to the northern border of Gaza, the place they’ve lived for many years.
“We’ll return for positive, and if crucial, I’ll battle with my very own palms,” her husband, Ovadia Keidar, mentioned. “We’ll restore the injury in order that our kids may have an instance of easy methods to shield the nation with out concern.”
“I lined their eyes with my hand in order that they don’t see the horrific sights of our bodies scattered in all places.” — Maayan Dotan, 47, along with her daughter Yuval, 9. They escaped Netiv Haasara after her brother Eran, a soldier, guarded their door.
“I don’t see us returning to the kibbutz. I don’t assume we’ll ever handle to really feel protected once more in our house.” — Lotus Lahav, 22, who sheltered in Nir Ouncesalong with her mom, Irit, in a protected room
“You lie down along with your spouse in a area, and also you solely know you should survive one way or the other to be along with your youngsters.” — Lior Matzner, 32, along with his spouse, Bar, 35, each of whom fled the music competition
“I’m conscious that in Gaza, persons are dwelling a life with no hope. To do such issues, it’s important to get to a spot the place you don’t worth your life anymore.” — Nadav Morag, 28, who fled the music competition
“I grabbed our child and escaped.” — Shaylee Atary, 34, along with her month-old child, Shaya, whose father was killed
Their protected room in Kfar Aza supplied no safety. Shaylee Atary’s husband, Yahav, “pressed as arduous as he might towards the door to stop them from breaking in,” she mentioned. She remembers “operating exterior barefoot, holding my child as tightly as doable,” hiding in shrubs and bushes till she reached a neighbor’s shed. She pulled sacks of soil and fertilizer over them, she mentioned, making an attempt to “calm Shaya’s cries in order that the terrorists don’t hear her and uncover us.”
Her husband, who had stayed behind, was lacking for 4 days earlier than she lastly acquired the information that he was lifeless. She couldn’t decide up herself off the ground till she heard Shaya crying.
“When Dad lastly obtained again house, I felt safer as a result of he has a gun.” — Noam Pelz, 10, whose father was working of their greenhouses when the assault occurred. The household sheltered of their protected room.
“Bullets hit the door and one hit my abdomen, and I held onto Avraham, however I used to be not afraid, not for me. I used to be afraid for my grandchildren.” — Simcha Shani along with her husband, Avraham, each 79. Their grandson Amit Shani, 15, was kidnapped and brought to Gaza.
“The odor was horrible. The whole lot round us had been burnt.” — Michal Pinyan, 44, along with her husband, Lotan, 42, and their youngsters Aya, 13; Arbel, 11; and Adar, 9
As they sheltered of their protected room, the identical textual content stored showing from moms in a WhatsApp group at Be’eri: “Assist us!” It was not lengthy earlier than a message got here from Michal Pinyan’s personal mom, who lived shut by: “They’re throwing grenades. They’re making an attempt to blast by the protected room’s door.” Her final message, too, merely learn: “Assist.”
“They lived three minutes away from me, and I’m going loopy as a result of I can’t assist them they usually had been murdered,” Ms. Pinyan mentioned of her mother and father. “They had been each 69.”
“I used to be one way or the other below the belief that they had been discovered lifeless at house, however a good friend who recognized them mentioned their our bodies had been tossed exterior,” she added. “They’d each been shot of their heads, and their palms had been cuffed with black cable ties.”
“My household is in Gaza.” — Avichai Brodetz, 42, whose spouse, Hagar, 40, was kidnapped from Kfar Aza and brought hostage with their daughters Ofri, 10; Yuval, 8; and Uriya, 4. A neighbor’s 3-year-old daughter, Avigayil, was additionally taken.
“We had been trapped below loopy nonstop fireplace for 4 hours.” — Ido Belkin, 21, an off-duty Israel Protection Power soldier who was wounded after responding to an emergency name and dashing to a base at Zikim