Gaza war: The displaced survivors of the Oct. 7 attack remain in need of support

By Jack L. Rozdilsky, York University, Canada

On the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas orchestrated a series of attacks on Israeli communities. This was the deadliest attack Israel had experienced since the state was established in 1948. An estimated 1,200 people were killed, hundreds were taken hostage and approximately 30,000 displaced.

As an associate professor of disaster and emergency management who studies terrorism, I travelled to Kibbutz Be'eri in February, where I had the opportunity to bear witness to survivors of the atrocity.

As a matter of respect for Israel’s dead, survivors and remaining hostages, a certain moral obligation seems clear: atrocity requires representation. Bearing witness means taking on a burden of responsibility to observe and document.

Bearing witness can serve multiple purposes. Attempting to understand the toll of the conflict on survivors of violence and documenting atrocity to call attention to the criminality of terrorism can all be results of bearing witness.

I was embedded in an environment that was still in disaster response mode. Conducting research in communities affected by the attack required delicate manoeuvreing due to the precarious security situation and general unpredictability.

To navigate such challenges, my co-ordination with organizations having intimate local knowledge of ground conditions was of utmost importance. Arrangements for bearing witness were facilitated by the American Healthcare Professionals and Friends for Medicine in Israel (APF), who organized the Israel Solidarity Mission, which I participated in.

I made field observations at Kibbutz Be’eri at a point in time 130 days after the massacre. When Hamas attacked, the ensuing devastation at Be'eri resulted in 112 residents of the kibbutz being murdered.

Physical ruins

One observation that repeatedly stood out was arson. Observable burn scorch marks surrounding windows of bedrooms and safe rooms were apparent. Exterior walls of dwellings were pockmarked by automatic weapon fire. Interior walls of dwellings were scarred with blast effects from anti-personnel grenades.

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