A survivor of the Kibbutz Be’eri massacre gave a blood-curdling statement to an Israeli news channel on Friday, accompanied by her son.
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When Hamas terrorists stormed her neighborhood five kilometers from the Gaza Strip, Sophie Barzon and her family hid in the shelter of their home.
For more than 20 hours, his kibbutz was surrounded by terrorists carrying out their offensive.
“It took hours, hours, hours. People were massacred in their homes, one by one. During all these long hours no one came. They went from house to house and killed everything they found without distinction,” she says emotionally.
Sophie and her son, now settled outside the kibbutz, agreed to describe the horror minute by minute to an i24News journalist.
Seven hours after the attack began on October 7, the family was still hiding in the shelter.
AFP
Thanks to her phone, Sophie was able to communicate with her loved ones and update them on developments.
In a cry for help, the Israeli tuned into a news channel and informed people that the massacre was underway.
Before hiding at the shelter, the mother of three had knives in her hand, ready to defend her family.
His son told how he waited for hours at the shelter amid the noise of gunfire and the screams of frightened families.
Hamas terrorists also set fire to homes to trap families.
“I was on the phone, I was against mom. I was really scared. At some point the shelter door handle moved. So mom took a knife in her hand and stood in front of the door,” the boy said.
At this point, the British-Israeli woman began to say goodbye. A few hours earlier she had started writing her will.
AFP
The latter was convinced that he would not survive due to the intensity of the Hamas attack.
Miraculously, the bunker door was not broken down by the terrorists.
“Suddenly they just left. They moved on, somewhere else. “I don’t know why I’m here and others aren’t,” she emphasizes before bursting into tears.
At this point, the family had already been crammed into the “bunker” for ten hours.
At around 6 p.m., Israeli soldiers returned to the kibbutz to rescue the Barzon family.
AFP
“Ten soldiers entered my living room. I fell at their feet and begged them to evacuate us as quickly as possible to get my children out of there,” she added.
After their rescue, the Israelis had to return to the shelter for another five hours due to a rocket alarm.
After more than 20 hours of nightmare, the survivors were evacuated on foot.
The family was ordered to close their eyes to avoid seeing the dozens of bodies on the ground.
AFP
“When I left the house I didn’t understand it. There was a pile of corpses lying on top of each other on the lawn. Corpses and blood everywhere. There are bloodstains everywhere,” she admits, horrified.
According to authorities, at least 100 bodies were found on Be’eri Kibbutz.