Guy and Tamar from Ramat Aviv were in Kibbutz Nirim on October 6, celebrating the anniversary of the founding of the kibbutz with their parents, residents of the kibbutz, and family members. “The celebration was on Friday evening,” says Guy. The family and kibbutz members enjoyed a festive evening and went to sleep, unaware of what lay in store.
Maayan Hoffman, Deputy CEO - Strategy and Innovation of the Jerusalem Post Group, and Zvika Klein, Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Jewish World analyst, spoke with the couple, who were staying at the home of Guy’s parents in Tel Aviv.
“We woke up on Saturday to a nightmare,” says Guy. “There were many rockets, and the red alert kept sounding. At that point, we didn’t know about terrorists in the kibbutz.” At 8 AM, Guy and Tamar heard rumors that terrorists had entered the kibbutz. “We heard shouting in Arabic, but it seemed so unreal that we didn’t believe it.” They heard gunshots, smelled smoke, and realized that the terrorists had set the homes on fire. Twenty-two Hamas terrorists were, in fact, in the kibbutz.
Guy and Tamar praise the members of the emergency readiness squad of the kibbutz, who fought off the terrorists. “They were heroes.”
“I was holding the door handle shut and had a knife in my pocket,” says Guy, but I didn’t think I could fight against the terrorists.” At 2 PM, the IDF came, but they were unable to leave the apartment until later that evening.
“We know of many people in Nirim who were captured by Hamas or murdered,” says Tamar tearfully. “We call upon the world to condemn what Hamas did. They murdered and slaughtered. What they did was inhuman.”