Terror engulfed Israel on 7th October after terrorist group Hamas launched an unforeseen attack killing innocent Israeli civilians, taking many of them hostage and raping women. The Hamas terrorists barged into Be’eri Kibbutz on the Gaza border, unsettling the peaceful existence of this close-knit community.
The lives of Kibbutz residents turned into a nightmare as Hamas terrorists stormed in compelling the people to confine themselves inside their homes.
As evident from a WhatsApp group chat shared with BBC, terrified residents of the Kibbutz communicated snippets of information, their fears, desperate pleas for help and tips to help each other cope with the situation.
The ensuing incident commenced with a message that said, “We have a terrorist on the stairs. Call someone.” The women in the Be’eri mothers’ WhatsApp group found themselves in the middle of a day-long rampage, chronicling their horror, disarray and survival bids as gun-yielding Hamas terrorists walked the streets, torching homes, and taking local Israelis captive.
The terrorists were heard speaking in Arabic. From their safe rooms, the women and their families exchanged messages concerning the mayhem outside. They inquired as to why the army had not yet arrived, shared information about the terrorists’ locations, gave tips on how to cope with smoke-filled rooms, and continued to appeal for help.
“At some point, somebody changed the name of the group to “Be’eri Mothers Emergency,” BBC reported. While in their safe rooms, the Kibbutz residents sought help from each other about how to lock the doors and also combat smoke inhalation. “Entire house is full of smoke what should I do?” someone asked.
“Try to put a wet cloth on your face. Or urine,” another resident responded. Dafna Garster, who had come from Germany to stay with her family in Kibbutz told BBC that on 7th October, she heard a “sound we could not identify”.
IDF to the rescue
“Usually you have an alarm and a boom of the iron dome. This time, there was no alarm, and it was so loud. It’s a sound we could not identify,” Garster said. In the face of the horror, the WhatsApp group chat kept the morale and hopes of the people intact.
They relied on code language and cooperation to coordinate attempts to distinguish soldiers from Hamas militants. The arrival of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) provided some hope, but ambiguity prevailed as people dealt with contradicting reports.
With the arrival of the IDF, the horrifying ordeal came to an end. The IDF soldiers took the affected locals to safe zones. The survivors of the Hamas’s horror said that they are driving strength from their broken community, but they cannot forget those whom they have lost.
According to a Telegraph report, the Hamas terrorists had taken the phones of some of the local residents and started texting on WhatsApp groups to lure out people hiding in the safe rooms.
Israel Hamas war
An unforeseen attack on Israel by Hamas dubbed ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Storm’ that combined gunmen violating security barriers with a barrage of rockets fired from Gaza was carried out at dawn on 7th October during the Jewish high holiday of Simchat Torah, killing at least 1,300 people, including children and the elderly, and injuring over 2000 others.
In one of the worst attacks in history, the terrorists also assaulted women and abducted hundreds. In response, Israel launched ‘Operation Iron Swords’ and used Article 40 for the first time since the Yom Kippur War in 1973, effectively declaring war.
Apart from striking Hamas targets, Israel has also cut power and water supply to Gaza, as well as preventing supplies from entering the landlocked coastal strip. It is worth noting that Hamas has declared Friday, 13th October, as the day for global Jihad and has incited antisemitic sentiments around the world.
