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Hamas are ‘butchers of people’, Supernova survivor tells UK media
Three survivors from the October 7 Hamas attack have shared their thoughts and feelings on the ongoing war with Hamas, in a recorded interview with the UK’s Channel 4 News on November 5. The survivors, while recorded, were not named and so will be referred to as survivors one, two, and three.
On October 7, Hamas invaded Israel and brutally murdered 1400 Israelis and foreign nationals. Hamas also kidnapped over 200 Israelis and is holding them hostage in Gaza. Terrorists from the organization invaded homes, raped, and tortured families near the Gaza Strip, and concertgoers at the Supernova festival. In response to the attack and the rockets sent by Hamas and its affiliates, the IDF has begun to attack Hamas with the aim of eradicating the group, which has cost the lives of many Gazan civilians.
“We were dancing and those seconds of being so unbelievably happy and safe and feel all the love and then, half-a-second after that, you are running for your life,” one of the three survivors told the source. “I was so exhausted and so terrified and then, because it’s like a desert so it’s very open and there is no place to hide but, we found this place and we saw some bushes and herbs so we just crawled inside, to cover ourselves in leaves. We stayed there for 6 hours.”
The lasting trauma
“Do you feel scared at the moment?” the interviewer asked.
“I feel scared all the time,” the survivor responded. “I, honestly, I feel as like I have already died. In a way, I feel like I have died. I know it is not fair to say because there are people who didn’t make it but it just feels like being a ghost.”
“When it happened, two times I ran and stopped because I didn’t believe that this actually happened,” explained the second survivor. “Now, I feel like everything could have happened. For me, it’s like make logic that terrorist will come from there and shoot me right now.”
The third survivor explained: “I think a lot of people that have been there feel it’s like a miracle because there’s no way…like they have a picture of the white hands with all of the bodies. I’ve been there when they started shooting, so all of the people that is dead now over there that they got murdered, I could have been one of them if I didn’t do this I’ll probably be dead. If I didn’t do that, I’ll probably be dead. So, you can imagine yourself dying over and over and over again.”
“It’s the experience of a lot of survival,” the first survivor explained. “We go back and try to like replay everything we did. We understand that every decision that we made was critical.”
The interviewer proceeded to ask the survivors, “Tell me, what helps? Does anything help?”
“For me,” responded the second survivor “I’m like talking. When I tell my story, it tells me I think.”
“There is no that this trauma will vanish,” added the third survivor. “But it’s only time, I believe, only time.
“Do you think it’s changed you as a person?” the interviewer prompted. “Or how you look at the world?”
“In some ways,” answered the second survivor. “I’m like okay this world is much worse than I thought. Much more cynical like people see it and think this is somehow an act of freedom fighters. I can’t get it.”
“We stopped being naïve,” added the second survivor.
“I feel like my entire being has been shattered like you know that other people are actually being able to laugh and celebrate the thing that my country is going through right now. It’s beyond devastating,” said the first survivor.
“Also,” added the second survivor, “I am on lots of like social media…I see people from another country who denies it and like diminish it and like president of Turkey says that these are not acts of terror. So what is terror if this is not terror? This is kind of make me thing that we live in bad world.”
The situation in Gaza
The interviewer then proceeded to ask the question “What about the bombing of Gaza? There is concern about the number of civilians…people like you, young men and women like you being killed in Gaza…”
In a quick response, the third survivor answers “I know that Hamas uses human shields… We know that, we’ve been there. We know this is their strategy. We’re not only the good side, we know that the bombing in Gaza…it’s horrifying. I really don’t want kids and women and good people that are against Hamas will die. But if you are with Hamas, and you do believe in their way, how do you want us to handle this? They’re butchers of people, it is not revenge, it is reality.”
“We really don’t know what to do,” the first survivor continued. “People don’t understand: what options do we have? Innocent people are going to get killed no matter what we’re going to do. It’s the way it is when there is a terror organization that is active. That’s that.”
The interview then probed: “Is there another way?”
“No, unfortunately, no. If we just…If our army were just going inside without bombing first, we would have lots of lots of casualties and we had enough casualties on October 7,” the second survivor finished by stating.
Israel’s political echelon, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has ordered the IDF to prepare for an “immediate” return to fighting in Gaza, KAN News reported on Friday evening.
The Jerusalem Post reported earlier this week that Israeli officials estimated that if no agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas, Israel would return to fighting in Gaza in about a week and a half.
“Hamas is currently rejecting [US Middle East envoy Steve] Witkoff’s proposal, so it is very difficult to make progress,” one official said.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Witkoff’s plan involves the release of half of the living hostages and the return of half of the bodies on the first day of the continued deal. The rest of the hostages and bodies would be returned on the 42nd day, which would be the final day of the ceasefire.However, some claim that the terrorist organization has not rejected the proposal. According to a source familiar with the negotiations, “Hamas has neither accepted nor rejected the Witkoff proposal.”
Eyal Zamir to Gaza border community heads: We’re preparing to fight
On his first day as the new IDF chief of staff on Thursday, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir told heads of local councils from the Gaza border communities that “we are preparing to return to fighting” in Gaza.
“We must defeat Hamas,” Zamir said. “We are also preparing to resume fighting. The hostages are our top priority.”
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.
Negotiations over the continued release of hostages held in Gaza have stalled, and “right now there is nothing happening,” sources familiar with details of the talks admitted in conversation with The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
“Right now, there’s nothing happening,” an Israeli official told the Post, adding that “Hamas is currently rejecting the Witkoff proposal, so it is very difficult to make progress.”
According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, the Witkoff plan involves the release of half of the living hostages and the return of half of the bodies on the first day of the deal. The second half of the hostages and bodies would be returned on the 42nd day, which would be the final day of the ceasefire.
On the other hand, some claim that Hamas has not rejected the proposal. “Hamas has neither accepted nor rejected the Witkoff proposal,” said a source with knowledge of the negotiations with the Post.“Hamas has said it is willing to negotiate and has not rejected the plan. Since Israel currently states that this is the proposal on the table, from Israel’s perspective, Hamas has rejected it.”
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff not expected to visit Israel soon, source says
An Israeli source told the Post that there is no expectation for Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, to visit the region at the moment, adding, “He will only come to finalize a deal. And since there is no real progress right now, it is unclear when or if he will arrive.”
Without an agreement on the release of additional hostages in the coming days, Israeli sources say Israel is preparing to escalate its actions against Hamas. After the decision on Sunday to stop humanitarian aid, Israel is preparing to cut off water and electricity to the Gaza Strip, as well as resume fighting – some say this might happen, without a deal, as early as next week.
Israeli officials suggest that even without accepting the Witkoff initiative, Hamas might agree to release additional hostages in the near future in exchange for the release of terrorists from prison and the entry of caravans and humanitarian aid, but they add that this also depends on other issues.
“The Israeli government needs to decide what will be negotiated with Hamas and what they will receive in exchange for the release of hostages in the coming weeks,” said an Israeli source. “Hamas’s agreement to release more hostages depends on the answers to these questions.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that Israel responded to the mediators’ request to allow a few more days of negotiations. Katz added,d “If Hamas does not release the hostages soon, the gates of Gaza will be locked and the gates of hell will be opened – we will return to fighting, and they will face the IDF with forces and methods they have never encountered before.”
Israeli officials suggest that even without accepting the Witkoff initiative, Hamas might agree to release additional hostages in the near future in exchange for the release of terrorists from prison and the entry of caravans and humanitarian aid, but they add that this also depends on other issues. “The Israeli government needs to decide what will be negotiated with Hamas and what they will receive in exchange for the release of hostages in the coming weeks,” said an Israeli source. “Hamas’s agreement to release more hostages depends on the answers to these questions.”
No progress has been made in the ceasefire talks in Cairo, and Israel is reaching a dead end, a source familiar with the details of the negotiations told The Jerusalem Post Saturday.
There were lots of technical discussions but no results, the source added.
Israel and mediating countries believe that only the Trump administration can perhaps break the talks out of the impasse.
“When [US Middle East envoy Steve] Witkoff arrives, things may happen. Everyone is waiting for him,” the source said.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a meeting on the hostage deal in the next several hours with senior officials and the negotiation team, an Israeli official told the Post.
Hamas refusing Israeli proposal to extend phase one of deal
Hamas is refusing the idea of extending the first phase of the deal, Israeli officials said.
The Israeli and Qatari delegations arrived in Cairo on Thursday. The delegation is led by Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing Persons, Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch, as well as “M,” an anonymous officer from the Shin Bet. M is the former deputy of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, who is reportedly no longer part of the hostage deal negotiating team.
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