Sebastián Katlirevsky will carry the memory of last Saturday, October 7, for a long time. It was barely 6:30 in the morning when an anti-aircraft alarm shattered sleep, forcing him and his family to seek shelter together for more than a day. “Like most Israelis, I am used to sirens, but usually we understand the reason, or at least sense that border tensions are rising. That Saturday, no one expected it to be this grave,” says Katlirevsky, a member of the Prensa Ibérica team, in an interview with EL PERIÓDICO. Seven years ago, this Argentinian from Córdoba moved to this region. Israel now lives there with his wife and three children. The kibbutz lies about 14 kilometers from the Gaza border.
As soon as the danger became clear, he, his wife, and their children took shelter in the safest rooms of their home. “We stayed put for a while, then decided to move to the safer block when we saw conditions improved a bit. We retreated to a protective shelter,” he recalls, describing how they hurried in their pajamas, moving with neighbors to safety. Community shelters are common on kibbutzim and are often used by people in nearby apartment blocks, but on this occasion, four young strangers surprised them. “We knew nothing about what was happening at first; we only felt that this incident was more serious than anything before,” he remembers. “What struck me was a group of four boys. They didn’t look well. They were between 18 and 25, and they said nothing. They stayed in a corner, quiet, and it took more than half a day before they spoke.”
horror in pictures
As hours passed, images of horror began to arrive. At first, they thought they were fake news. “But as more videos surfaced, we began to realize the truth,” he explains. “From the videos, we could see: stories of girls whose friends or boyfriends died beside them, murders, kidnappings, children hiding in closets who witnessed their parents’ deaths, entire families murdered.” Sebastián notes the irony that such violence strikes in a place where many residents have supported peaceful coexistence. “Teaching this to the next generation will be a major challenge, and there are good people on the other side as well,” he believes. Yet he remains hopeful.
“We saw clips of a white van and terrorists firing at close range, and then the dots began to connect. Those youths were in shock because they had escaped from the infamous assault by terrorists that had broken into a party nearby,” Sebastián explains. He recalls trying to contact the boys, but they were only present physically. “It’s hard to explain how they managed to reach that shelter in our neighborhood. We are about 10 kilometers from the location of the party. They managed to escape and survive, but many others did not.”
Sebastián answers questions about the current safe zone and his family’s status since Sunday, explaining that he still lives with his family nearby and that a visit from relatives has been limited. “I live in an agricultural cooperative, a kind of gated community with a dairy farm. Our community and nearby neighbors enroll their children in the same school,” says the farmer. Because of responsibility, he chose not to leave his family. “The dairy must keep producing; otherwise, the cows suffer. Food safety is essential.” He spent days in shelters, going to work only as needed to care for the animals and support his team.
Difficulty returning home
“We want to return home, but the place feels like the worst possible line of defense, a second front that makes it dangerously unpredictable,” Sebastián says, speaking with quiet pain. He is acutely aware that many people have been abducted or gone missing. He pauses the conversation to let his words settle before continuing. “Let me pause; I don’t want my children to hear this too plainly,” he explains. A young woman from his community, only 18 years old, disappeared, and her body was found shortly after. “There are still between 200 and 300 bodies to be identified,” he says, and adds that the fear touches everyone. “We are tired; the stress is overwhelming. We worry about what could happen to our families.” He praises the solidarity of Israel, where communities come together to welcome refugees, but acknowledges that some families may not be able to return home for months or even years as kibbutzim are left shattered.