About 100 members of Kibbutz Be'eri and visitors were murdered with unparalleled cruelty by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. Thrity were kidnapped from their homes, 19 of them were returned and the body of Judith Weiss was recovered. As of this moment, 10 kibbutz members are being held captive in the Gaza Strip.
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Oren Sharabi, whose father and uncle are still being held captive in Gaza, said: "My name is Oren. This is my first time in Kibbutz Be'eri since October 7. Coming here scared me. It's hard for me to be here after everything we've been through. I am coping with my fear because the scariest thing is that my father is still being held captive in Gaza."
She described the horrific moments that turned her life upside down that day. "On October 6, Dad promised me we'd play soccer together, but on Saturday morning I woke up to a different reality. Dad held the door of the safe room shut and at first, he managed to stop them from entering but the second time they managed to break in. I heard the terrorists laughing. They led us outside the house." Subsequently, the terrorists kidnapped her father and her sister's boyfriend, Ofir Engel, who was returned from captivity. She also added: "My father is everything to me. He was always there. Now every second is precious."
Amit Shani, a 16-year-old 11th-grade student from Be'eri, was in his home's safe room with his mother and sisters when Hamas terrorists entered his home. They broke the safe room's door, grabbed Amit, and took him with them while they set fire to the family home. This week he returned to where those moments of horror took place.
"It started with the Code Red rocket alert, a fairly routine thing. However, then there was a notification of an infiltration. We were sure that the incident was over, but with every minute it only got worse. They broke into our house. They broke into our safe room," he said.
"They took us to Gaza. Emotionally that was difficult. Homesickness, feeling of abandonment. Those who are held captive there are afraid all the time. You don't know if there will be a tomorrow. If you will wake up. I want everyone to demand the release of all the hostages. They were abandoned once and they don't deserve to be abandoned a second time."
Video: Daniel Weiss sings next to the destroyed home of his murdered parents Judith and Shmulik Weiss / Credit: Noam Dvir
Thirteen-year-old Hila Rotem, who was released after 50 days in Hamas captivity, said: "I was kidnapped together with my mother and friend Emily Hand. I was in Gaza for 50 days. It was hard for me. We were in the dark a lot and we were not allowed to talk, only to whisper. I dreamt a lot about eating at home and having a cold drink".
She said that they changed locations many times within the Gaza Strip. "I was separated from my mother," said Hila. "On the bus on the way to Israel, they asked me if I had a guess as to who I would meet. I thought my uncle was dead, so I said other people's names."
Hila said that after a few days after she returned to Israel, she was told that her mother was being released. "I didn't want to go to sleep and I waited for her all night. I don't stop thinking about what those who are still there are going through. I know exactly what they are going through."
Hila's mother, Raya, also told about the moments of horror. "At noon I heard conversations in Arabic. The terrorists entered the safe room with guns and knives, grabbed me by my shirt, and just took me to Gaza."
Raya says that she had a hard time understanding the situation, especially regarding the lack of security forces around. "The road to Gaza was completely open. There were no planes, there were no soldiers. I saw the fence and realized that we had reached Gaza. The conditions in captivity were not easy."
