Surviving October 7th - The Day That Changed The World

On the morning of October 7th 2023, Hamas, a militant group, carried out a series of attacks across Southern Israel, bordering the Gaza Strip. The armed groups attacked at least 19 kibbutzim, 5 moshavim [co-operative communities], Nova Music Festival, a beach party and the cities of Sderot and Ofakim.

It was one of the deadliest days in the history of Israel. 1,195 people were killed and 251 people were taken hostage.

There is strong evidence of rape and gang rape during the attack, according to the UN.

The background to October 7th is complicated. Hamas justified their attack as a response to what it calls Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people. These include raids on holy sites, settler activity in the occupied West Bank and the ongoing blockade of the Gaza strip - which strictly controls movement of people and aid into the territory.

The conditions in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli blockade has seen it described as an ‘open air prison’.

Following the attack, Israel began a massive campaign of air strikes in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel wanted to destroy Hamas, and release the hostages.

In the last year, Israel’s war in Gaza has resulted in the death of over 40,000 people, according to Hamas authorities. These numbers are not widely contested.

101 hostages still remain in Gaza.

Netanyahu has been criticized by the international community, including the US, for the brutality of the war in Gaza. Hamas has also been condemned for the taking of hostages, a war crime.

Millet

A year on since the October 7th attack, we spoke to Millet.

Millet is 29. She was at the Nova Festival with four of her friends for a long-weekend of raving. Nova Festival was a big event in the trance music scene. She’s a huge fan of trance, describing it as a ‘meditation’, and saying that the dancefloor is the ‘great equalizer’.

It was 6.29am when the music stopped. Hamas-fired rockets tore through the sky, and gunmen landed in the festival sites on paragliders, and in trucks.

‘I was with four of my friends, we watched the sunrise.’

‘It’s still hard to talk about, even though I talk about it every day, but it’s still hard’ Millet said.

There was a lot of confusion - festival-goers didn’t know what was going on, and thought maybe it was a drill. However, as it became clear they were under attack, people began to flee - or hide.

‘It was chaotic, we were all trying to escape death’

Milett tried to escape in a car, before running on foot to escape the attack. She eventually hid in a bush with some other women from Nova, for six hours. She called the police, but was told all the surrounding villages were under attack. She waited until she was rescued.

‘I just remember how dizzy I was, how terrified I was’.

‘I was praying I would be killed by a rocket’.

‘I didn’t want their hands over me’ she said.

‘I wanted to die’.

What followed the October 7th attacks would change the region, and the world, forever.

For Milett, her life will never be the same.

Aftermath

‘I have been isolating myself from most of the people that I knew before.’

‘I am trying so hard to recover, and to have somewhat of a normal life’.

Milett has now devoted her life to sharing her story of what happened on October 7th. She works with the ‘Be The Witness’ campaign which seeks to elevate the experiences of survivors, and educate the world on what happened on that day.

I understand it will take time, but I am determined to dance again.