The tension at the David Hotel on the Dead Sea, where a large part of the residents of Kibbutz Be'eri are staying, could have been cut with a knife yesterday. The residents waited anxiously for the implementation of the second phase of the deal to release the hostages, and many gathered in a hall where the live broadcasts could be watched on a huge screen.
Many others traveled to the Abductees Square in Tel Aviv to participate in the rally. As the hours passed and it became clear that the implementation of the deal was delayed, the hall emptied of people. The stress and anxiety were too great and the residents gathered in groups around the hotel, or went to their rooms.
The children run around the lobby without being aware of the drama sizzling around, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Many children were running around the hotel lobby, completely unaware of the drama taking place and the stress of their parents. We met the residents, talked to some of them. Each of them lost someone on the Saturday of October 7th. Whether it's a family member, or a friend of the parents, a neighbor, or a classmate of one of their children. Everyone has a connection to the event, or as the chairman of the community, Amit Shalvi, told us, "Wherever you throw a stone, you will hit." Amit himself lost his beloved sister and her husband. "By 10:30 in the morning, they were gone," he tells us.
The names of the people slated for release in the second phase are not talked about. We don't want to plant false hope. "Until I actually see them inside the army ambulances, I don't celebrate. After all, we know who we're dealing with. They are HamasNazis," a colleague told us a few hours before it became clear that Hamas was delaying the transfer of hostages. He said and did not know, or did know, how right he was.
Regarding the feelings among the families of the abductees who did not receive the long-awaited news of the imminent release of their loved ones, he tells us: "There are families who did not receive the happy news, but everyone's feelings are feelings of joy and great anticipation. Not sadness. Glad that some of the residents are coming back to us and expecting everyone to come back to us. We are not giving up on all the abductees there are and we all hope that it will end as soon as possible."
"We've been waiting for this so much, just don't cancel"
In Kibbutz Be'eri, more than 26 residents were murdered and <> were kidnapped. One resident tells us when it turns out that there is a delay: "We've been waiting for it so long, just don't cancel it."
At the hotel we catch Naor Pecziarz, who is walking around with his dog, folded. You were rescued five days after Black Sabbath. When the sirens began, she crawled under the house, hid there for five days and refused to leave, until two friends of Naor's managed to lure her out and brought her to the hotel for an emotional reunion with her family.
"Bari is a strong community and it will be even stronger," Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
From Barry evacuees. More than 26 kibbutz members were murdered and <> were kidnapped, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Naor is staying at the hotel with his wife and four children. That Saturday, they hid in the safe room until two o'clock at night. So they were rescued. His eldest child is from Barry's 'peach' class. In this layer, three were murdered and two were kidnapped, among them Noam Or, who was kidnapped with his sister Alma and father Dror. The mother was murdered. Naor's third daughter is Emily Hand's best friend. She was also kidnapped, but at first the army thought she had been murdered. "Every day she waits for her to come back," Naor tells us.
Among the abductees were some of his friends. "It will take as long as it takes, we will wait for them until they come back. Even if it takes two months," he tells us.
Many of those we met say they want to return to Bari, but will not do so until the mission of returning the hostages and toppling Hamas is completed. "Be'eri is a strong community and it will be even stronger," Miri, a resident, tells us, while Amit, the community's chairman, tells us: "This is a strong community and it will recover."
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