The Faces of October 7th

37 years old from Kibbutz Reim, the Kibbutz on the border with Gaza where the Nova Music Festival took place. 

He was at home on his Kibbutz with his wife and 3 kids on October 7th, his youngest was less than 3 years old at the time. 

Almost 60 terrorists entered the Kibbutz and hundreds more outside the Kibbutz. 

The terrorists tried to break into their house and when they didn't succeed they shot at the door and a bunch of shots at the window into the house.

The terrorists set up a base in their driveway, where they came and went from massacuring other places. Gal and his family hid inside their safe room for close to 30 hours, trying their best to muffle their baby’s crying to stay hidden.

They all survived but their cousin, who was a rising star in Eurovision, heroically died in Gaza a few weeks afterwards.

42  years old mother of two. Born and raised in Petach Tikva. She has a master’s degree in social psychology from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and nowadays is a doctoral candidate in gender studies in Bar Ilan university. Her study examines parenting as a platform for gaining skills and resources that are needed at the workplace. On October 7th she was at the Nova festival with her partner, where she accidentally met her younger and only brother, Shlomi, and his friend Lili. Jenny and her partner survived. Shlomi and Lili were brutally murdered. Less than two weeks after Jenny buried her brother she started volunteering at a healing center that holds supporting groups for parents, siblings and friends of those who died on October 7th, combining her professional and personal experience in order to support those who suffer great grief as her.

28 years old, runner & traveler,  Yoi was born and raised in Kibbutz Mefalsim.
He studied architecture at Tel Hai College in northern Israel and works in a construction company as a project manager.

Yoni likes to compete in running races, Travel the World, to cook and volunteer with the elderly.

On October 7th Yoni was at his family's house in the Kibbutz together with his parents and big
brothers. His neighbors hid in his house.
Yoni and his father had guns and they guarded everyone in their house when terrorists came
into the Kibbutz to kill as many people as possible.

23 year old Israeli-American. He was born in New York and moved to Israel in 2009.  He served in the IDF in one of the IDF's main infantry brigades until 2022 and has been traveling, working, and applying to colleges since. After this trip in the US, he is moving to Ramat Gan (near Tel Aviv) to start college. He plays softball, loves music festivals and swimming.

Matan attended the Nova Festival on October 7th with many of his friends and miraculously managed to escape after staying back extra late on the festival grounds. He narrowly escaped through farmland and hid for 10 hours in a town called Tekuma. He is committed to sharing his story in order to spread awareness and inspire unity and hope.

 28-year-old from Kibbutz Re'im, the Kibbutz that hosted the Nova Music Festival. 

She is an undergrad student in business administration and psychology and lives in Tel Aviv for school. 

On October 7th, Eden and her boyfriend were visiting her parents at home, on Kibbutz Re'im.  When the terrorists took over the kibbutz and broke into their home, her and her family hid in the attic. After 26 hours under fire, the family was rescued by the IDF and was evacuated from the Kibbutz. Her family survived but many of her neighbors and 400+ festival goers trying to escape from their surrounding fields did not. This is the second terror attack that Eden survived, she was also injured in the 2017 Jerusalem truck attack, where she lost 4 of her friends. 

Elinor Bitton Bariach is an Israeli, born and raised in Tel Aviv, who moved to Kfar Aza 15 years ago. She works at an NGO called Larger than Life, an organization supporting children with Cancer. She used to work at a Jewish summer camp in Washington State and has an MA in Jewish American Studies from Haifa University. She’s been married for 22 years and has 3 teenagers.

On October 7th, she was home with her whole family, hiding in their safe room. For many hours, terrorists stationed themselves on their roof, shooting her neighbors from on top of her house. For more then 20 hours total, Elinor’s family hid quietly, listening to terrorists break into their friends houses, burn them alive, murder, rape and kidnap their neighbors. Elinor is coming to the US to share her story and her pain, while also spreading the strength of community and inspiring us with her resilience. 

Ofri Avigdor Betser is a 31-year-old Israeli from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. She is married to Guy and they have two daughters: Daya (2 and a half) and Yaara (10 months). Ofri and Guy fell in love with the people and community spirit of Kfar Aza in 2019. By 2021, they had completed the building of the house of their dreams. Ofri worked in Kfar Aza’s childhood education until October 7th. 

On October 7, 2023, at 6:29 AM, Ofri, Guy, and Daya were abruptly awakened by continuous sirens. For hours, they hid in their shelter—Guy, Daya, their two dogs, and Ofri, who was 8 months pregnant. They quietly listened as terrorists walked through their house for three hours. The terrorists tried to open the shelter door and Guy held it shut.

At 4:36 PM, they were notified that an air force bomb would be dropped in their garden to create a diversion. The bomb fell shortly after, causing a violent explosion that disrupted electricity and water, and triggered the fire alarm. The terrorists responded with gunfire and grenades. Guy held the door while bullets flew past him. 

They were evacuated at 5:15 PM and taken outside the Kibbutz gate and immediately into an ambulance. An attack erupted while Ofti was being examined in the ambulance, forcing her to lie on the ground amid chaos and numerous casualties.

a 23 years old Israeli from Bitzaron, an agricultural moshav. She volunteered for a year of service in the communities surrounding the Gaza Strip and served in the army as an officer.

Irene met Netta in April 2021 at a bar in Nir-Am. It was love at first sight, although she was reluctant to admit it to him. Shortly thereafter, they knew they wanted to marry and moved in together in Kfar Aza. 

On October 7, 2023, Irene and Netta were hiding in the safe room of their apartment.  At 7 am they received the news that Netta's grandmother was murdered at the entrance to her home. Two hours later, they received the bitter news that his uncle, Ofir Libstein, who was the head of the council and whom they relied on to manage the situation and calm things down, had been murdered as well.  

At 11:30 AM, the terrorists broke into their apartment. They threw grandes into the safe room and Neta jumped on the last one to save Irene and was murdered on the spot. Irene hid with Neta’s body under the bed while the room was on fire and the terrorists were in the living room, until she was rescued by the IDF, around 4:30 PM.

 a 29-year-old who grew up on Kibbutz Nahal Oz with his parents and younger brother since they immigrated there from Russia in 2001. Today he lives there with his wife, Sara, and his 5-year-old son, Aviv. He’s a software engineer working at Beeri print. 

On October 7th, nearly 100 terrorists attacked their kibbutz, slaughtered or kidnapped most of their surprised defenses, and infiltrated the community to attack civilian residents. Nikita, Sara, and Aviv hid in their safe room while entire families were murdered in the homes around them for over 9 hours. Terrorists were inside of his parents house for 3 hours.

Only by an incredible miracle, Nikita’s family survived and are taking refuge up North, waiting to go back to what’s left of their destroyed homes and community.

a 31-year-old social worker who lived with her husband in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. She grew up in Nahla and her husband was born and raised in Kfar Aza. Liron is a therapist a part of the psychology center at Sha’ar HaNegev’s regional council. In her free time, she loves painting, writing, and traveling.

On October 7th she hid with her husband in the shelter (which was their bedroom) while terrorists surrounded their community. For many hours, they listened to gun shots and terrorists burning down their neighbors' homes. Her brother-in-law was murdered.

Liron is interested in sharing her story in order to raise awareness of the tragedies that took place on that day, in the memory of the victims and for the hostages that have yet to return home.

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