‘All I want to do is cry’: trauma of 7 October survivors three years after the attacks

What Happened

On 7 October 2023, Hamas-led militants broke across the border from Gaza into Israel, attacking kibbutzim, border towns, military bases, and a music festival. According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz records cited in the article, 1,209 people were killed, the majority of them civilians including 36 children, and 251 people were taken captive to Gaza. In Kibbutz Nir Oz, 47 people were killed and 76 taken hostage, including Shiri Bibas, 10-month-old Kfir Bibas, and 4-year-old Ariel Bibas, who were later killed in Gaza. Shlomo Margalit, 89, a founding member and caretaker, said a five-person volunteer defence force held Hamas at bay for at least two hours before all were shot; the kibbutz was then overrun and sacked, and Hamas forces, other Palestinian gunmen, and civilian looters left before the first Israeli soldier arrived. Former hostage Keith Siegel, held for 484 days, described living a 'kind of dual life' between Israel and Gaza; he and his wife Aviva, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, have decided not to return. In Nir Oz, survivors are torn between rebuilding the kibbutz and preserving burned homes as permanent monuments, with the third anniversary falling weeks before national elections.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

This article documents the enduring human and political consequences of the 7 October attacks that triggered the current Gaza war. It personalises the state security failure at Nir Oz, where the military did not fire a shot in defence, and highlights unresolved trauma among former hostages and bereaved families. On the eve of national elections, the story surfaces a reckoning over accountability and the conduct of the war, while the debate in Nir Oz over whether to preserve burned homes as memorials or rebuild reflects broader Israeli tensions between commemoration and recovery.

Watch For

Third anniversary observances on 7 October; national elections, which the article says are weeks away, and political fallout over responsibility for the attacks and the conduct of the war; the Nir Oz remembrance committee's pending decision on whether to preserve destroyed homes as permanent monuments or build a memorial garden; and possible testimonies or memorial activities from survivors and hostage families.