Stav is 21 years old. The marks of the wounds are there, on his slender body covered in gauze and bandages. She miraculously escaped the rave party massacre, when Hamas militants opened fire on the crowd of very young people in Reim. Today she is on a hospital bed and wears ballet slippers on her feet. "My dream," she says, "is to go back to dancing. Music and dance are my life."
The story of Stav Ben David is the story of those who made it, of those who narrowly escaped death. His Instagram profile is full of videos and photos taken during music rallies, always with a smile on his face sticking out in front of his smartphone with friends. The same ones with whom she had gone dancing in Reim on 7 October, for a non-stop day of music and fun. Then the sirens, the gunshots, the nightmare. "At half past six in the morning, as soon as we heard the sirens, we got in the car and hurried away from the festival. We were driving on a deserted road, when suddenly a dozen motorcycles appeared in front of us. We ducked down and my friend stepped on the gas. We managed to get rid of the terrorists who had surrounded us, but they still managed to shoot at our car." The shots reached both Stav and her friends, then the car stopped, leaving the girls stranded. "We started running in different directions," he says, "while they heard the explosions in the background."
The following hours, Stav, with a bullet lodged in his foot, passes them into a ditch, where he hides while waiting for help. "At one point I heard the footsteps of someone who spoke Arabic," the 12-year-old recalls, "and he approached and entered the ditch as well. He was wearing the uniform of the Israeli army, perhaps he had stolen it from our soldiers so as not to be shot by our security forces. At first he didn't see me, I prayed that he wouldn't kill me. Then he noticed me, looked me in the eye, shot me, threw away the weapon and ran away. It was a miracle that I met a stupid and cowardly terrorist."
Ten days have passed since then, and Stav will never forget those moments of terror. The bullets hit an arm bone, a buttock, the left thigh and the right knee. Fortunately, no one touched any vital organs or arteries. After undergoing surgery to reconstruct her hand, Stav began rehabilitation today. She is followed by physiotherapist Esti Kovarsky who, in her spare time, also teaches dance. The photos show doctor and patient with ballet slippers on their feet. "We use dance movements to regain mobility and strengthen muscles," says Kovarsky, as his 'special' patient indulges in an unusual seated plea. "I'll recover," he smiles, "and I'll go back to dancing."
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