lemons They are already starting to turn yellow on the trees. Kibbutz Be’eri. Nature moves forward in this community Two kilometers from the Gaza Strip. Oblivious to the horror, he moves forward into the landscape of destruction that surrounds these gardens that were idyllic two weeks ago. So who will come to pick these lemons that are about to change color and taste? Now, between them house ruinsThe only people around are Israeli Army soldiers and a group of civil defense volunteers. “At least, It doesn’t smell like death anymore“celebrating Liran ben David, resident of Be’eri. Does not use the past. Although he is now far from home and has taken refuge in a hotel in the Dead Sea, he lives on a kibbutz.
Under the hot sun, he wanders the streets that are the scene of both his best memories and his past. battle for survival. “We came with a veterinarian to take care of the kibbutz’s cats and dogs,” he explains, still holding his rifle. “Luckily my wife and children are fine, but we can’t find our dog“, he tells EL PERIÓDICO of the Prensa Ibérica group. Founded in 1946 in the north of the Negev, this farming community was one of the most heavily attacked during the Hamas offensive on 7 October. “It was a nightmare”, accepts Ben David. At least 112 people were killed by Palestinian militants that morning. That day, Kibbutz Be’eri lost 10% of its 1,000 population.
houses are talking
35 years ago Rami Gold He is part of this leftist community devoted to agriculture. At 70, this is where his children and grandchildren grew up. ‘My first experience of war was in the Yom Kippur War, and here I am, 50 years later, doing the same thing,’ he says.kitat konenut’. This term in Hebrew refers to something. rapid response counterterrorism unit, An armed group of 10 people, with each of these communities having to prevent attacks from reaching the civilian population. “But the big difference was that countries were facing countries, soldiers were facing soldiers; this Saturday was something else,” he notes.
“Theoretically ‘kitat konenut’ He can survive for half an hour to an hour before the army takes control; We resists for 12 hours”remembers Gold with pride. “I’m lucky to be alive and For taking as many lives as I can with me”, he confirms with the stern look of someone who has repeated this story dozens of times. But both Gold and Ben David know that their kibbutz houses tell the story of that Black Saturday better than any human voice. Broken glass shows interior of family homesLife here was only occasionally interrupted by rockets fired from the neighboring besieged area. Even the burnt rooms do not spoil the image of peace given by the green and orderly kibbutz.
A perfectly organized closet contrasts with the chaos that spreads across the floor. The order of the hangers indicates: urgency to escape from those who can be saved. There was no time to buy anything. “The real ones heroes “These are families who did not go out for 36 hours, survived without water, air, anything, only with fear,” emphasizes Gold. Some houses are now unrecognizableBecause the attackers set them on fire or threw a grenade inside while there were people inside. Those left standing greet visitors with broken glass and ceramics on the veranda. Arabic painted on their fronts.
“We focused on living”
“Hamas is a terrorist organization that states in its founding charter that its main purpose is terrorism. killing jews and destroy Israel,” he explains. Fay GoldsteinIsraeli Army spokesman. “This is a kibbutz, a collective community people living together and working in agriculture; “They are very focused on living, on existing,” says this young woman. business woman He was converted into a reserve soldier. This existence was a certain peace with its Gazan neighbors, who were doomed to a parallel life of blockade, poverty and economic suffocation. As Gold explains, some of the kidnapped elderly women were part of a helpful initiative. I’m tired of fringes Traveling to hospitals in Jerusalem.
But on the other side of the fence, Israel’s long-awaited revenge appears to be taking place. Cars, tanks and bulldozers rush by Israeli soldiers They spread across the green gardens of the kibbutz. some volunteers IntelligenceIsrael’s national forensics organization tries to sneak in half ruined buildings To check whether the bodies or parts of the Kibbutz residents were still found. “We have gone all over the world to conduct identification work in terrorist attacks, natural disasters, every situation you can think of, but this was another level“, To explain Yossi LandauCommander of the Southern Zaka region.
“As if those corpses, those victims they were talking to us“We all felt it, as if they were telling us their story,” Landau admits to this newspaper. One of the most complicated moments was when he had to make a decision. use one or two bags Removing the body of a pregnant woman and her dismembered fetus from her womb. Under a delicious sun, Zaka volunteers remove the remains. Only the sound of spot bombs in neighboring Gaza and the region tank race and military vehicles accompany the sound of footsteps on the glass.
This silence is temporary. “We will be back“I hope so,” Ben David admits. Maybe this year ripe lemons will collapse on the green grass, but next year the residents of Kibbutz Be’eri are already dreaming of making lemonade.