One year on, Israelis are still haunted by the horror of 7 October 2023. In Israel, AFP spoke to survivors and relatives of victims and hostages still being held in Gaza. Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people on the Israel side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity. Israel’s retaliatory campaign after 7 October has killed a total of more than 41,000 people in the besieged Palestinian territory, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00I feel like a year hasn't passed, and from my point of view, we still have October ahead of us.
00:12It's clear that the lack met us on a daily basis, like my sister was my anchor, she was the most important thing in the world to me, but it didn't catch on.
00:30This is Rotem's bed, and you can see the keys, there's even some blood here.
00:59The keys to her room.
02:00No.
02:02I feel like time doesn't do much for me.
02:09Time doesn't make you forget, I don't forget.
02:30You have to draw it right at the beginning. Do you know it?
02:44I didn't want to see anyone. I was locked in the house, I was in my closet, I didn't go anywhere.
02:54I was also very scared, beyond the traumatic, difficult, loneliness, the horror, the loss, the nightmares at night.
03:08I didn't manage to smile, I didn't manage to communicate anything other than talking about the Nova.
03:28And people also wanted to know what happened, how did I escape, what did I do, what now, are you dealing with it or not?
03:38I am every day, together with Kip in Gaza, every day with what they are going through, I think about it, I haven't left Gaza yet, I'm still in Gaza.
03:57When I came back, I weighed 10 kilos, I was in a very difficult situation, I barely managed to walk at first, I couldn't eat, I had to drink a few drinks every time, I had a stomach ulcer, and I don't want to think about Kip's situation.
04:27Gaza! Gaza! Gaza!
04:35As if the ground collapsed under our feet, and we never stop, because we don't know, we don't know if he is still alive or not, we don't know what his situation is, we don't know if he will come back to us at all.
04:57And the lack of knowledge is the most difficult thing, it gives the impression that there is no stability, and that there is no ability to move forward at all in life.
05:27Gaza! Gaza! Gaza!
05:38It takes a lot of time, so I also ask my mother in life, and I tell her that we don't know, and that I prefer to hope that we do, and then she always strengthens the question and asks, but what do you feel? What do you feel about your father in life or not? And I have no answers.
05:58Gaza! Gaza! Gaza!
06:05We will never be able to feel safe again, not only because we have no stability in terms of equipment, but also because we had an experience that no one will save us, and not only that no one will save us, we were exposed to an event that we have never imagined.
06:35Gaza! Gaza! Gaza!