‘Death was a blessing’: Survivors of Hamas attacks share harrowing stories

The death of one’s own child is an unbearable tragedy for any parent. However, very rarely, it happens differently. Kibbutz Beeri resident Thomas Hand has been waiting for news about his eight-year-old daughter since the Hamas attack on the settlement on the morning of October 7. That day the kibbutz was under fire for about 12 hours. Throughout this time, Hand had no idea what was happening to his daughter.

The day before, little Emily went to spend the night at her friend’s house. According to her father, she rarely does this. When the kibbutz was attacked in the morning, Thomas kept thinking: “The army will be here soon. Just hold on a little longer.” After everything calmed down, the father began to wonder what happened to his daughter.

There were two options: either she was dead, or she was captured and taken to the Gaza Strip. Thomas admitted in an interview with CNN: “If you know anything about what they are doing to the people in Gaza, it is worse than death. They won’t have food. They won’t have water. She would find herself in a dark room filled with God knows how many people. I was terrified every minute, hour, day and possibly years to come. So death was a blessing. An absolute blessing.”

It’s scary, but that’s exactly what the grief-stricken father reasoned. When they came to him and actually reported Emily’s death, he only exclaimed: “Yes!” There was a smile on his face.

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Muslim doctor Tarek Abu Arar, who lives and works in Ashkelon, also went through hell. A volunteer doctor from United Hatzalah (an Israeli ambulance organization) was on his way to work at a clinic. As he approached the intersection, he noticed a wounded man.

“At that time, there were no reports of any infiltration into the country,” Abu Arar explained to the New York Post. The only thing is that about 20 minutes ago before all the events, he heard an alarm siren, which prompted the man to put on a bulletproof vest. Assessing the situation on the road as a regular accident, he decided to help the victim. It turned out it was a trap.

According to Abu Arar, someone dressed in an IDF uniform began gesturing to him from afar, asking for help. When Abu approached the “victim,” he shot him in the chest: “He suddenly shot me in the chest. I started screaming and praying. I was convinced that I would die soon.”

Then Abu Arar thought that the police mistook him for a terrorist. But suddenly he heard the attacker say in Arabic: “Stop, stop, he’s an Arab!” At that moment, Abu Arar counted about 10 more men in military uniforms jumping out of the bushes. The interrogation began: “They asked me questions to test my knowledge of Islam. They had Kalashnikovs and very modern military equipment, and they were dressed in green uniforms similar to the IDF uniforms.”

Apparently, having received the expected answers, the militants tied Abu Arar to a pole in the center of the intersection and said: “That’s it – we have a hostage. The IDF can no longer destroy us from the air.” After this, the Hamas man, according to Abu Arar, began shooting at every car, “trying to destroy every passenger.” The prisoner was forced to watch the carnage for two hours.

“It was terrible… The army arrived on the scene, and there was a shootout between the terrorists and the soldiers, in the center of which I was,” Abu Arar recalls that day.

At one point, a Hamas militant even shot him in the leg, indicating with a gesture that the next bullet would fly to his head. About 45 minutes after the IDF retreated, Yamam (Israel’s National Counter-Terrorism Unit) commandos arrived. They allegedly killed all the terrorists and rescued Abu Arar.

“It was the worst experience of my life. I have dedicated my life to helping others and saving lives, both in my profession as a doctor and as a volunteer with United Hatzalah. To be a witness to the terrible massacre taking place before my eyes was terrible.”

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Ayelet Swaticki is a mother of three from Wakefield, West Yorks. The woman lives near Haifa, and her mother and brother live in one of the kibbutzim in the south of the country. As news of the Hamas attack began to emerge Saturday morning, Ayelet tried to call her 79-year-old mother, Hannah. However, the only thing she heard on the phone was the militants shouting orders, after which the connection was cut off.

Moments later, Ayelet was sent a photo of a terrified Hannah and brother Nadav Popplewell, 51. A message followed with one word: “Hamas.” Another woman’s brother, Roy, was in the local hell zone. His death became known quickly. The fate of Hannah and Nadav remains unknown.

“I can’t describe how worried I am right now. My mom needs insulin and I don’t even want to think about how long she’ll last without it. I beg Hamas, please just give us proof that they are alive,” Ayelet said sadly in an interview with The Sun.

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Galit Dan, a 53-year-old woman from Kibbutz Kissufim, curses the day she sent her daughter Noya to spend the night with her 80-year-old grandmother Carmela in Kibbutz Nir Oz. When they heard gunfire and explosions on Saturday morning, Galit, her husband Inon Ilan and their 9-year-old daughter Tomal hid in a fortified room. In another kibbutz, where Galit’s daughter Noya (suffering from autism spectrum disorder) and the woman’s mother Carmela were at that moment, the same thing happened.

All this time they wrote messages to each other. In one of the voices, Galit heard Noya sob and only said: “Mom, I’m scared. There are people in the house – help me.”

Unfortunately, it was impossible to help. Since the last voicemail, nothing has been heard from Noya or her grandmother. They were not among the identified bodies in the kibbutz. There are suspicions that they were taken hostage and taken to the Gaza Strip.

“Our best hope now is that they have been kidnapped and will somehow survive. I desperately want to see my beautiful daughter home and I beg everyone who has the strength to do everything they can,” Galit pleaded.

Her husband Inon described Noya as “very sweet, very funny and very smart”, but her diagnosis leaves her extremely sensitive: “It was heartbreaking to hear her last voicemail asking for help when we were so powerless and surrounded by people trying to kill us. I don’t know how she’ll cope, but I just hope she’s still with her grandma and doing everything she can to protect her.”

Inon also recalled his impressions of that day: “We heard shooting, then explosions and heard Hamas soldiers shouting in Arabic: “Kill the Jews!” Neither of us said a word, we were left in complete darkness when the power went out. They then entered the house and tried to open the door to our room, but they could not enter.”

Meanwhile, another resident of Kissufim (33-year-old Shmuel Harel) shared the story of how Hamas militants shot his 90-year-old grandmother Gina Siemyayc twice in the head: “Then they came to her 71-year-old cousin Ofer Ron and shot him in exactly the same way “

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According to the Daily Mail, two British citizens, Noam Sagi and Sharon Lifshitz, described how their elderly parents were literally dragged out of their beds and taken to the Gaza Strip. It also turned out that among the Hamas captives there was a six-month-old child. Photographs of several of the abductees were presented at a London press conference.

British family members of Israeli hostages speak out about the plight of their loved ones. At least 100 people are believed to have traveled from Britain to Israel to serve in the Israeli army.

Concerns about the safety of British citizens in the region remain high, with 17 Albion citizens reported either dead or missing, including children.