At 06.30 on Saturday morning, the residents woke up to the bomb alarm. The very sound of bombing was nothing new to these residents of Kibbutz Be’eri near the Gaza Strip. The difference now was that the bombing apparently never ended. Hamas had launched its attack. In addition to firing several thousand rockets at Israel, they stormed into the country. Surveillance video shows a Hamas soldier firing at a car in Be’eri during the attack on Saturday, October 7. Photo: Reuters Tom Hand, who lost his eight-year-old daughter, was among those who woke up to the bombing this morning. He came to Be’eri from Ireland as a volunteer 30 years ago. He planned to stay a few months but never left. After his wife died of cancer a few years ago, he and his eight-year-old daughter Emily have lived in the kibbutz on their own. In an interview with CNN, he talks about messages he received about soldiers breaking into his neighbors’ houses this morning. All he could think about was his daughter Emily. The night before, Emily went to a friend’s house to spend the night. When the chaos broke out on Saturday, he was unable to get in touch with either Emily, Emily’s friend or her friend’s mother. Nor did he have the opportunity to seek them out physically, as the streets were filled with armed Hamas soldiers. – I had to think about Emily. She has already lost her mother. I couldn’t risk her losing her father too, he said. Several houses are completely damaged after the fighting that has taken place in the kibbutz. Photo: AP – Death was a blessing Tom Hand was eventually rescued by the military, and was evacuated with others to a hotel on the coast of the Dead Sea. He spent the next few days trying to find out what had happened to his daughter. Two people from the kibbutz, a team of doctors, psychiatrists and social workers approached him. They told him that Emily was dead. – It was a dear, but quick conversation. They have so many people to get through. Hand was somewhat relieved by the news. Of all the worst possible options for her daughter, death seemed the least painful. – She was dead. I knew she wasn’t alone, she wasn’t in Gaza, she wasn’t in constant fear in a dark room filled with others. So death was a blessing, he said as tears streamed down his skin and his voice cracked. – In this crazy world I am hoping my daughter is dead, he said. The picture shows the damage to several houses in Be’eri. Photo: Reuters Other people who know him well live with Tom Hand in the hotel. Here he is surrounded by love – but also constant reminders of Emily. Many of Emily’s friends are at the hotel. – They know she is not here with me. So they ask me what happened to her. I say I don’t know yet, he said. – But then they see their parents hugging me and crying. Kids aren’t stupid, even at that age, so just by seeing it I’m sure they get it. More than 110 residents killed Emily is not the only victim of Hamas’ ravages in Be’eri. There are more stories similar to the one Tom Hand has experienced. Hamas left the kibbutz in massive destruction. Be’eri is said to have been among the last kibbutzim where the Israeli soldiers regained control from Hamas. Some of the residents waited for over 48 hours before being rescued, writes the Financial Times. According to Israeli soldiers, more than 110 of the residents were killed. Others were kidnapped. Witnesses say that Hamas set fire to people’s homes, and tried to kill those who tried to escape the heat and smoke. In addition, they are said to have looted, stolen and destroyed what they could. Nahal Neta cries over her mother Adrienne Neta (66). She is a nurse living in Be’eri who is now missing. Photo: AP Among some of the houses that remain, the doors are open. On the fridges there are pictures attached with magnets. They show the families that once lived there. A community that shared everything Again in the kibbutz, the survivors stand with their stories and traumas. Until Saturday, around 1,200 people lived in Be’eri – the largest of the 12 kibbutzim that make up the municipality of Eshkol. The community here is very close-knit. Residents told CNN they eat meals together and share everything, including their wages. The money goes into a common treasury and is redistributed equally between all the families. Be’eri is located along the Gaza Strip, just a few kilometers from Gaza City. Nevertheless, the relationship with the residents of Gaza is not as tense as many would think. – There were people from Gaza who worked in the kibbutz and they were part of the community, they brought their children to the kindergarten here, says Michal Pynian to CNN. “When they couldn’t work here anymore, we started collecting money from the community and there is now a fund that keeps them alive,” said Michal, adding that they are determined to continue sending money. A popular destination Although its location bears witness to ongoing unrest, Be’eri has been a popular destination for Israelis. Art galleries, cycle paths in beautiful terrain and green gardens between houses and apartments. These are words that have previously described Be’eri. Words such as war zone and center of massacre are now used instead. In the kibbutz’s communal dining hall, where residents used to gather to eat, there are still menus and posters advertising the kibbutz’s running club. This is also where the bodies of the dead were brought. Waiting for the emergency services to pick them up. Now the bodies of Hamas soldiers are being removed from Be’eri, after the counterattack by Israeli forces. Rescuers from “Zaka” place the body of a Hamas soldier in a body bag. Photo: AP – You can still smell the corpses – What happened here was a pogrom, says Itai Veruv, the general who led the fighting in the area. “Pogrom” is an expression to describe violent attacks on Jews and Jewish property, but the term is also used for violent attacks on other ethnic minorities. Veruv adds: – This was not a war. They wanted to kill and kidnap to Gaza. Women and children. He is not alone in being shaken by the impressions in the kibbutz. – You can still smell the corpses here. It’s overwhelming. I feel anger and frustration, says Richard Hecht to The Guardian. He is the international spokesperson for the Israeli Security Forces (IDF). 71-year-old Uri Ben Tzvi, survived the attacks in Be’eri. He also uses the term “pogrom” to explain what he experienced. He compares his experience to one of the Holocaust’s most famous victims. – I felt like Anne Frank. I hid with my wife in a narrow corridor while the attacks continued.
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Survivors are left in mourning – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
