Here’s my story from that terrible October 7:
I'll start from what was almost the end of the story - I was rescued by the IDF only at 03:50, in the middle of the night after endless hours alone in the safe room, having been cut off from electricity since 07:00. During that time, there were dozens of terrorists outside who had infiltrated and taken over my beloved kibbutz, Kibbutz Re'im.
They were shooting continuously, throwing grenades, setting houses on fire, breaking in, injuring, and murdering people of all ages. They kidnapped a sweet, young man. I pray with all of my heart that he will return to us soon, safe and sound. For those horrifying 21 hours, I was alone, in complete darkness, without a ray of light or a drop of air. I was unable to charge my phone and was plagued by a terrifying fear that my battery would die, leaving me without the possibility of communicating, updating, or receiving updates from my family and the medical team. I was dealing with awful cell reception that kept disappearing and then returning.
I could hear them speaking and shouting in Arabic. I could hear them marching. I could
hear them hiding. After several hours, I finally heard Hebrew and understood that the IDF had arrived. The IDF was there! I could breathe a bit easier. The shooting was then a two-sided affair, and the sounds of gunfire became sequences of shooting. I was sure this would end very soon. Soon, the special forces that have come will eliminate all of the terrorists, one by one, and end this event.
“My body hurts. My soul is scarred. And my heart is broken״
But no, not at all. The bursts of gunfire continued and continued and continued! I heard a lot, a lot, really a lot of gunfire at almost every single moment. During this time, I was updating my family on WhatsApp about the crazy non-stop shooting all around, but also updating them that I was okay. Towards the late afternoon, we were told that IDF forces were going house to house and clearing the area. I was praying that they would finally come to me, too, but I realized that there was still a great deal of chaos around me
I reminded my family that I have no electricity. I started pressuring them to update those who needed to know what was happening because the reception was becoming much worse, my battery was draining, and I was begging for them to come and rescue me. I felt and knew that without my phone, I might lose my sanity or perhaps something even worse. I was yearning to get out of this nightmare!!!
"My parents hadn’t answered me since 1:30 a.m. I was terrified to go to their house and possibly see the worst thing of all"
Throughout the evening and night, 'V' marks were placed on more and more houses. People were updating me that the IDF was at their place, and so the event had ended for them. But not for me. For me, there was constant gunfire. It was as if the rest of the kibbutz and I were in two different places.
In the early morning, when an IDF force knocked forcefully on my door and yelled, "IDF, IDF," I hesitantly came out of the bomb shelter. I also heard and recognized our hero's voice, Roi H., calling me (by my sister's name, which I correct him on). I approached the apartment door and tried to get some words out of my mouth, which took me a few seconds. I hesitantly asked "Should I open? Should I open the door for you?!" When I got a positive answer, I moved towards the door and went to turn the key… I discovered that it was impossible. Something was damaged or broken; all the mechanics of the lock were damaged from the shooting, and I couldn’t open it.
They told me to take two steps back and that they were going to break down the door. I screamed at them to wait a moment because I wanted to run back to the bomb shelter. They probably understood the magnitude of the trauma I was involved in and broke down the door gently. It took them about 3-5 minutes. And then they came in, in a row, about 10 soldiers - with their weapons in front, helmets with flashlights on their heads. They looked at me, they looked at the apartment, asked how I was, and told me to pack a few things and to come with them.
“We took a strange detour, and I realized that the scene was very hard to see. I also understood that the event was not over yet. There were still terrorists besieging apartments in my area!”
They asked me where I wanted to go, and I had no idea what to tell them. My parents hadn’t answered me since 1:30 a.m. I was terrified to go to their house and possibly see the worst thing of all. I told them to take me to my brother-in-law and the children (my sister was not at the kibbutz that weekend). They explained that they were transferring me to another group of soldiers because they needed to continue. We took a strange detour, and I realized that the scene was very hard to see. I also understood that the event was not over yet. There were still terrorists besieging apartments in my area!
My body hurts. My soul is scarred. And my heart is broken.
Lior T.