Hamas terrorists “raped girls for the bodies of their friends” as they carried out a “second Holocaust”, British family members of Israeli prisoners captured by gunmen claimed at a news conference in London today.
Two British nationals, Noam Sagi and Sharon Lifschitz, spoke about how their elderly parents were torn from their beds and forcibly deported to Gaza by Hamas along with children as young as six months old, and pleaded with governments to help them recover help, but regretted the actions of the attackers.
“I shouldn’t be here today, I should be going to Heathrow to pick up my mother.” “I’m here out of pure evil,” Noam said.
“On Saturday morning, the kibbutz where I was born and raised woke up to a massacre – a second Holocaust.” Mostly small children and old people. They burned the place down and shot the dogs. Nothing left.
He recounted how the families living in the kibbutz were “gassed, burned, slaughtered, killed and kidnapped.”
“People who survived the Holocaust faced another Holocaust.” “One of the hostages was on the Kindertransport,” said Noam, 53, referring to an operation to evacuate Jewish children from Nazi Germany.
“They have taken so much from our community.” These are our children, our parents. “My mother was taken out, deprived of oxygen and loaded onto a motorcycle… It takes a special person to get an 85-year-old out of bed, doesn’t it?” asked Sharon, 52, through tears.
As images of several abductees were shared at the press conference, it was also revealed that a six-month-old child was among the Hamas prisoners.
Six-month-old Ariel, Tamir Adar, 38, Yafa Adar, 85, Noam Elyakim, Dikla Aava, 50, Dafna Elyakim, Timer Eliaz Arava, 17, as well as Ela Elyakim, Nahal Oz and “Abigail,” whose ages were not disclosed , it is known that they were kidnapped to Gaza.
Sharon Lifschitz (left) and Noam Sagi meet for a press conference of British children of Israeli hostages at a hotel in London, Thursday, October 12, 2023. Noam Sagi, 53, is a London-based psychotherapist who grew up on kibbutz Nir Oz. His 75-year-old mother, Ada Sagi, was taken hostage on October 7. Sharon Lifschitz, 52, is an artist and academic whose parents, ages 85 and 83, are peace activists and were also taken hostage
Sharon Lifschitz (right) and Noam Sagi (left) attend a press conference by British children of Israeli hostages at a hotel in London
As images of several abductees were shared at the press conference, it was revealed that a six-month-old child was among the Hamas prisoners
A house is completely destroyed after it was burned down by Hamas militants during the attack on Kibbutz Be’eri near the Gaza border on October 11, 2023 in Be’eri, Israel
Yaffa Adar, 85, was forced into a golf buggy at gunpoint by a group of terrorists
Distraught relatives of a missing Israeli are overcome with emotion during a press conference
Noam is a London-based psychotherapist who grew up on Kibbutz Nir Oz.
His 75-year-old mother, Ada Sagi, was taken hostage on October 7.
“We haven’t heard anything. What keeps us going is that my son has a grandmother and I want him to be with her on his next birthday. What keeps me going is that each of these people is family – they teach me how to swim, they teach me one plus one. That’s how we grew up. “I will do anything for her,” Noam said.
Sharon Lifschitz, 52, is an artist and academic whose parents are peace activists aged 85 and 83 and were also taken hostage.
“I have a lot of friends, a lot of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus.” “I don’t care, let’s get together and bring these kids home,” she said.
“My father would say: I’m 83, I’ve had a great life, don’t worry about me, worry about my neighbors’ children and babies.” I ask you to take care of them too.
“My father worked for peace all his life. I am his daughter. I ask for peace. Now we must act together to fight this hate with love. You are not part of this war.’
At the start of the conference, the host gave an impassioned speech before handing the speech over to Noam and Sharon.
“Hamas… is a modern-day death squad. “They went door to door, ripping babies and children from their mothers’ beds and slaughtering them brutally and in cold blood,” she said.
“Girls were raped for the bodies of their friends, and many survivors were kidnapped.”
“These terrible acts were celebrated on the streets of Tehran, Gaza and even by some here in London.”
“We have never experienced such a traumatic event in Israel, which will take years, if not generations, to overcome.”
“This is the largest hostage crisis the world has faced in decades.”
As British family members of Israeli hostages speak about the plight of their loved ones, at least 100 people from Britain are said to have traveled to Israel to serve in the Israeli military, which is launching a campaign of retaliation against Hamas.
The Israeli embassy in the UK said the travelers were believed to be “reservists and active-duty soldiers” of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
It said in a statement: “The Israeli Embassy is aware that at least 100 reservists and active duty soldiers have returned to Israel from the United Kingdom to serve in the IDF.”
Concerns for the safety of British citizens in the region remain high. Seventeen British nationals, including children, are reportedly either dead or missing.
It was confirmed on Wednesday that another Briton died in Saturday’s attack by Hamas militants. Jake Marlowe, 26, is among three people known to have died. He was initially reported missing, but was confirmed dead by the Israeli embassy in London.
Israeli rescuers shared a shocking image of a blood-soaked kindergarten in Be’eri
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu claimed in social media posts that the attackers committed various atrocities, including tying up boys and girls and shooting them in the head, burning people alive, raping women and beheading soldiers
Across the street near a kibbutz, remains of a terrorized market garden can be seen
Israeli rescuers carry what appears to be a small body, possibly a child, wrapped in a blanket
According to Israeli soldiers, Hamas terrorists are believed to have beheaded babies and shot entire families in their homes in a small kibbutz in Israel
A soldier is overcome with emotion as he searches for bodies on the kibbutz
Israeli soldiers recover the body of a civilian killed days earlier in a Hamas attack on Kibbutz Kfar Aza, near the Gaza border
Rescuers and witnesses have described horrific scenes in kibbutz in southern Israel, including the slaughter of elderly people and finding blood-soaked rooms filled with massacred civilians.
Speaking to US President Joe Biden yesterday about Hamas atrocities, Netanyahu said: “We have never seen such cruelty in the history of the state, nor since the Holocaust,” before referring to scenes of Nazi brutality against Ukrainians expelled Babyn Yar during World War II.
“They took dozens of children, tied them up, burned them and executed them.” They beheaded soldiers, they mowed down these kids who came to a nature festival, you know, they put five jeeps around this depression in the ground and whatnot Babyn Yar they mowed them down and made sure they killed everyone,” he said.
“They are even worse than ISIS and we must treat them as such.”
Hamas is holding an estimated 150 people taken hostage by Israel in Gaza – soldiers, men, women, children and older adults – and has fired thousands of rockets into Israel in the past five days.
Two Israeli kibbutz in particular – Be’eri and Kfar Aza – suffered heinous atrocities at the hands of Hamas.
Kibbutz Kfar Aza is considered the place where the worst atrocities against babies occurred due to its popularity among young parents. It was one of the first Israeli settlements to be attacked by rampaging terrorists on Saturday morning.
Here, armed Hamas fighters with assault rifles and grenades shot dead screaming families begging for their lives before setting fire to their homes.
The terror began shortly after dawn, when most of the 400 residents living there were sleeping or enjoying breakfast.
The first wave of 70 terrorists had raced toward the quiet kibbutz on motorcycles after breaching the border fence a mile away, while others paraglided over Israel’s unsuspecting defenses outside Gaza.
Once they arrived, the heavily armed fighters attacked the compound from four directions – starting with the “baby district” on the west side, where the young families lived.
This graphic (above) shows how the horrific Hamas massacre took place at Kibbutz Kfar Aza
Soldiers from the IDF Lotar unit slowly check the kibbutz, going from one house to another to clear them of any ammunition or threats. Fifth day after Hamas’ attack on Israel
Israeli police and security forces assist a journalist as he takes cover during a rocket attack warning in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, near the Gaza border, on October 12, 2023
Israeli soldiers walk next to the bodies of Hamas militants killed at Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Tuesday
Troops remove the bodies of victims killed in an attack by Hamas terrorists in Kfar Aza on Tuesday
A woman’s body is covered with a blanket in Kfar Azza
After the attack, a child’s seat and a child’s dress are splattered with blood
Gunshots and bloodstains litter the walls and door of a house on the kibbutz near the Gaza border
The terrorists were met by a distressed kibbutz guard, who was among a small group of residents with military experience who were patrolling the perimeter when they saw the swarm of black figures approaching them.
They, like the Israeli military and government, were unprepared for the wave of terrorists who fired shots at them. The small security unit tried in vain to protect their neighbors but was unable to stop the terrorists and was killed.
Ruthless armed Hamas fighters moved quickly through the kibbutz, first killing a 90-year-old grandmother who had been sitting on her porch. They dragged the frightened woman into her living room and shot her twice in the head.
Families were awakened by gunshots and voices outside their homes. Frightened parents ran to their sleeping children, dragging them from their beds and cots before putting them in safe rooms or closets.
Among those parents were Itay and Hadar Berichevsky, both 30, who heard the gunmen trying to break down their front door.
The desperate parents took their 10-month-old twins to a hidden shelter just before Hamas terrorists stormed into their home and shot the couple dead.
The terrorists then systematically moved from house to house, blowing open front doors with their rocket grenades and unleashing a hail of bullets on the men, women and children living there. Entire families were handcuffed before being shot one by one at close range, soldiers said.
Shocking images from the crime scene show a baby’s car seat covered in blood, with her little bloody dress lying next to it.
Hamas gunmen then set fire to several houses in the kibbutz in a nefarious attempt to force the families out so they could shoot them as soon as they reached their yards.
Meanwhile, in Be’eri, just a stone’s throw from Kfar Aza, sickening photos emerged of Israeli civilians lying in their beds riddled with bullet holes.
Most of the photos forwarded to Web by the Israeli embassy in London were too graphic to publish
The houses in the community were largely decimated by Hamas terrorists
In Be’eri, just a few miles from the Gaza border, cars were abandoned in the middle of the road
A body lies on the ground in Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel on October 11, 2023, after a mass infiltration by armed Hamas fighters from the Gaza Strip
A mortar shell lies in the grass in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 11, 2023, after the attacks
Horrifying photos too graphic to publish showed a woman lying face down in bed in a pool of blood with six gaping holes in her mottled, rotting skin.
Beside her, a man with dark hair slipped awkwardly into a gap between the bed and the wall.
His black clothes, which looked like pajamas, were still slick with his blood, which pooled in a dark red mass on the floor below him.
You could see his body decomposing – his face was blackened and his arms were covered in boils. Pieces of flesh were missing from his right arm and hand.
Outside, several cars have been flattened, while the bodies of people in everyday clothing lie in awkward positions.
The more than 100 bodies found at the kibbutz were removed by the Zaka search and rescue group, which warned that the death toll could rise.
A screenshot from a video confirmed by CNN shows the terrifying moment Hamas butchers arrived at Kibbutz Be’eri, where they murdered at least 100 people
At least 100 people were killed by Hamas terrorists in the early hours of Saturday
The number of deaths confirmed in Be’eri could rise in the coming days
Israeli soldiers mobilize on October 11 in response to the attacks on Kibbutz Be’eri
Israeli soldiers ride in military vehicles as they gather at Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel following a mass infiltration by armed Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip, October 11, 2023
This image from video provided by South First Responders shows charred and damaged cars along a desert road after a Hamas attack on the Tribe of Nova Trance music festival near Kibbutz Re’im in southern Israel on Saturday, October 7, 2023
One survivor, Haim Jelin, told local media that Hamas fighters “walked around Be’eri as if they owned the place.”
“They shot indiscriminately, kidnapped whoever they could, burned people’s houses so that they had to escape through the window where the terrorists were waiting,” he added.
A woman named Miri Gad Mesika told local media that she and her husband suffocated from thick smoke and gas fumes as they tried to hide.
“We soaked towels with water and covered our faces while my husband Eli held the shelter door shut as tightly as he could while the terrorists tried to break in,” she said.
“Just before jumping from the second floor, we assessed the fire situation, looked for the terrorists and decided to jump.”
“We fled to our neighbors across the street and watched our house go up in flames before it burned down completely. ‘I have no idea how we survived.’