ZAKA volunteers have been working for more than three weeks to bring the hundreds of murdered for burial in the most dignified and appropriate manner. Since the outbreak of the war, hundreds of ZAKA volunteers have gone to the Gaza envelope to bring the saints to their final rest, honor the dead, and honor the living families.
ZAKA volunteer describes the horrors at Kibbutz Be'eri // Hanan Greenwood
The challenge was very complex, throughout this period, every single day, hundreds of volunteers worked under inferno fire to pull the saints out of the ruins and bring them for burial. The scenes they saw were heartbreaking, the sights were eye-opening, but they did not let go for a moment, they continued with perseverance and dedication, loyalty and professionalism, in order to make sure to bring the saints, the martyrs of the Simchat Torah massacre to be buried in the most appropriate manner.
If we thought that the holy work was over, it turns out that these days hundreds of volunteers at ZAKA are returning to the inferno, returning again to the horrors, in order to evacuate and bury the last artifacts that still remained between the destroyed walls, among the burnt rugs of dirt. Findings that the volunteers did not have time to produce in real time, both because of the security danger and because of the severe complexity of the findings and the various arenas that we will spare from detailing.
ZAKA personnel in the envelope kibbutzim, photo: ZAKA
For many days they have been returning to the source of the horrors, once again reaching settlements and kibbutzim, once again looking the pure evil in the eye, the massacre, the cruelty, all with one simple goal: to take care of the martyrs of the massacre, to take care of these holy people who were murdered in cold blood, while severely torturing them in the cruel massacre that has never been here since time immemorial.
Head of the Volunteer Division, Haim Weingarten, says, "Until last Wednesday, we were engaged in evacuating the bodies and body parts, to my great regret. Now, together with the full cooperation of the Ministry of Defense, we are once again returning to the sites of the massacre in order to completely exonerate them of the artifacts of the saints who require burial. This is a complex and slow task, but we, together with hundreds of volunteers, will not rest until we bring them all to burial in the most dignified manner possible in such a terrible situation."
Living room of a house destroyed in Kibbutz Be'eri, photo: AP.
Weingarten said the scenes are very complex. "You have to understand," he describes, "there are houses where very strong and difficult fighting was carried out. We are now dealing with blood-filled wardrobes, blood-soaked beds and other very difficult sights. We want to bring all the artifacts for burial as these saints deserve. I was exposed to shocking things during these days when we are forced to open a wardrobe and clean it, where you are exposed to the great horrors of little girls who just tried to hide in the closet to stay alive. It's just incomprehensible."
Weingarten added, "There are also apartments where the terrorists left weapons, IEDs and grenades. Therefore, first an army enters the houses and exonerates the house of dangers, and then we enter the house of artifacts that require burial. We work hand in hand with the security forces, the army and the Ministry of Defense for the saints and for the national mission."
Kibbutz Be'eri after the atrocity, photo: AP
Simcha Grainman, deputy commander of ZAKA Modi'in Illit, described that, "There are many who are still defined as missing, and part of the task now is to try to locate them in the complex arenas in communities and kibbutzim, where we have not been able to reach every point or find. We go back there again to turn over every stone and find artifacts, which we transfer to the Institute, where it undergoes testing and identification. It's a difficult and complex job. Both to care for the honor of the dead and to take care of the dignity of the living, who really want to return to their homes and take away what is left. We clean the area for them and make sure that every bit of holiness from the saints ends up for burial."
Grainman also said that the work is done heroically and under fire. "Every day there are sirens here, it's a little scary, but the volunteers don't rest on their work. They work diligently for the saints and that deserves very much admiration. To date, we have managed to cleanse three communities: Dune, Re'im and Nahal Oz. This is a sacred national mission, and despite the difficulties, sights and feelings, we are returning once again in order to completely exonerate them."
ZAKA volunteers near the Gaza Strip, photo: ZAKA
Weingarten and Greinman say that after the houses are credited by ZAKA volunteers, they put up a sticker with the organization's logo, stating that the place was credited by ZAKA volunteers, so that the security forces will continue to deal with those homes and arenas. "Our hope is that we will finish the work as soon as possible, in order to honor the saints and honor the families."
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