When Home Becomes the Front

On Simchas Torah morning, in a precisely orchestrated operation, masses of Hamas terrorists invaded Israel’s south by land, air, and sea.

In a massive intelligence and military failure, the residents of the area’s kibbutzim, moshavim, and towns were left defenseless as Nazi-style executioners marched from home to home, rounding up hostages and shooting entire families in cold blood.

Local police forces, volunteers, and civilians fought with fierce courage and determination – some in their slippers – to save their families and neighbors. So many fell.

A day of rejoicing and unity, when families celebrate their shared heritage, became a day of horrific loss and unfathomable mourning.

Now Israel is engaged in a war – a fateful battle that feels familiar yet different. The cruel capture of over 100 hostages creates new moral dilemmas that will underlie every military decision. The sheer numbers of dead, wounded, and missing have overwhelmed the country’s resources. And the timing – precisely 50 years after the Yom Kippur War – evokes bitter memories of warnings unheeded and lessons unlearned.

“Our World Has Collapsed”

Ishai Baider, Netiv Ha’asarah on the Gaza border

As told to Gedalia Guttentag

ITwas 6:30 a.m. when the “tzeva adom” (red alert) siren went off, and my 16-year-old son saw a hang glider fly over our house, which is within a few hundred meters of the Gaza border. We thought that it was an Israeli who was for some reason flying during a siren — only later we found out that it was the airborne spearhead of the Hamas assault force.

We entered our reinforced room, and almost simultaneously, the electricity went out, which meant darkness for my wife and me and our three children. With no cell phone reception because of the thickness of the walls, we had no idea what was happening outside.

Half an hour after the siren, I opened the door of the shelter and messages warning us to stay inside started to get through. But these were no mere warnings — the sounds of shooting from all directions told us we were in the middle of something unprecedented.

I closed the door again, and when I opened it for an update, the picture began to get horribly clear: We saw videos of the Hamas gunmen in Sderot, a nearby town, and then from friends sending footage of fighting all around them.