A Nation in Pain
I woke up early that morning, the sun already casting its golden light over the quiet streets. I had spent the night in the guest room, the mamad—our safe room—with the window slightly open to let in the cool autumn air. It was 6:29 a.m. when my phone buzzed with an alert. Incoming rockets.
At first, I brushed it off as a glitch. Rockets this early? So sudden, without warning? But the buzzing didn’t stop—it escalated. One after another, the alerts poured in, faster than I could process. I glanced at the screen. The number of rockets being fired was staggering. The realization crept in like a shadow: this was no mistake.
We called a friend in Sderot, the border city, hoping for clarity. His voice was trembling, the words tumbling out in disbelief. From his kitchen window, he had seen something horrifying—terrorists infiltrating, shooting, wreaking havoc. It was no ordinary escalation. This was different. This was an attack.
The details unfolded slowly, like a nightmare you desperately want to wake up from but can’t. The scope of the horror began to emerge. The entire nation felt the impact. It was as if the earth beneath us trembled with the weight of the pain. I’ve never experienced a day so dark. The grief was overwhelming, suffocating, like a tidal wave that consumed us all.
The streets were silent, yet the air carried the collective cry of a wounded people. We cried for the lives lost, for the children ripped from their parents, for the innocence stolen. We cried for the brave souls who ran toward the danger, for the communities reduced to ashes.
October 7th wasn’t just an attack—it was a wound that bled into every heart in this country. It was the day that changed everything, our lives will never be the same.
Even now, as the dust settles and the stories continue to unfold, the pain remains raw, and the wounds are fresh. Here in Israel, we don’t just mourn—we rise, we carry one another, and we find strength in our unity.
We live not only for ourselves but also for those who are no longer with us, honoring their memory by cherishing every moment of life. Our story is far from over; it is one of endurance, hope, and an unrelenting desire to build a future worthy of those we’ve lost.