Noa and Ronen, members of a Kibbutz in the north of Israel, enjoyed the days of Sukkot and planned a picnic day on Saturday, October 7, in Simchat Tora.
Everything changed in a minute. Already in the early morning, they realized all plans were canceled. By 7:30 a.m., Ronen saw desperate WhatsApp messages on his reserve force group from Steven who lived in Kibbutz Be'eri on the Gaza border: "Terrorists are in my neighborhood." This was followed immediately by "shooting inside the Kibbutz, feet from my house, terrorists are killing us."
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At first, the group assumed this was yet another incident in which terrorists snuck into Israel and would soon be captured by the army. Some friends even offered that Steven and his family come over to them after the event is over to relax a bit. One member wrote "Steven, as soon as this is over, you're all invited to our home. We have only one spare room but if needed we'll find more room in our moshav. Just take care meanwhile.,"
"It took us some time to realize the extent of what was happening" Ronen recalled, "but as soon as we all understood that this is a war, I told my wife I have to go. When a friend writes that the Yom Kippur War is recurring and they are being slaughtered, there is no question. I just went to my base".
Ronen joined his unit and was sent immediately to assist the villages under attack. After two days of non-stop combat, he was sent to the northern border to fend off Hezbollah's threat, while his wife and child traveled south to her parents and family. Ronen reported that Steven and his family were eventually rescued without harm.
This past weekend, Ronen and Noa finally managed to enjoy some time as a family, hosted in a Tel Aviv hotel with 50 other families of fighters in an initiative called "Eshet Chayil" headed by David Hager, one of the main supporters of Netzach Yehuda Association, along with other American Haredi businessmen.
For a month now, they have sponsored wives and families of combat fighters from all units, every Shabbat a different group, and they plan on continuing doing so for the coming time: to host a group of wives and families of soldiers for a weekend in a hotel, with activities for the children.
"Because they simply deserve it. These people are the salt of the earth, the combat fighters have been on the front line for over a month now, and their wives are in a no less important role, keeping the home front strong and stable. This is the least we can do to show our gratitude" Hager told Israel Hayom.
Guy, from the Maglan unit, came with Yifat, his wife, and their two children to the family Shabbat and they said this was their first Shabbat as a family since October 7. Yifat mentioned that their son kept on asking for dad to return home and that they all go to a hotel together, and his dream came true. "This is our first Shabbat together, in a hotel just as my son wished, and our anniversary happens to be on Sunday. It is amazing that we can celebrate for a moment as if there's no war out there".
David Hager had praise for the Dan hotel chain and the manager, Ilan Ben Hakoon, who made all the efforts so that the families enjoy a perfect vacation at the hotel.
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