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More than 100 bodies found in Kibbutz Be’eri, as horrors of Hamas attack continue to unfold
(JTA) — The grim and mounting toll of Hamas’ attack on Israel was thrown into stark relief on Monday when more than 100 bodies were found in Kibbutz Be’eri, a small community on the Gaza border that was invaded by the terror group on Saturday.
When Israeli troops entered the kibbutz they found scenes one Israeli news site described as “hell”: dozens of burnt cars and houses — and bodies lined up in rows on the street. Zaka, a first responder group, reported the number of dead.
Survivors said that in many cases, residents were shot to death at point-blank after being forced out of their safe rooms when their homes were set ablaze. “We assessed the situation of the fire and looked out for the terrorists and decided to jump,” Miri Gad Mesika told the Israeli news site Ynet. “We fled to our neighbors across the street, and watched our house go up in flames before it was completely burned down. I have no idea how we survived.”
Be’eri, a kibbutz with a population of roughly 1,000, has lost 10% of its residents and accounts for a significant proportion of the growing death toll of Hamas’ attack.
108 bodies discovered in Kibbutz Be’eri: women, children, entire families. That’s 10% of the town’s residents. Let the world know. pic.twitter.com/YvXs3oulNu
— Eli Kowaz (@elikowaz) October 9, 2023
Another nearby kibbutz, Re’im, was the site of a massacre of an outdoor nature party in which 260 Israelis were killed. Altogether, more than 900 Israelis have been killed, more than 2,000 wounded and more than 100 captured in the attack.
Among the people who disappeared during the attack on Be’eri was Vivian Silver, a Canadian-born woman who was prominent in efforts to build peace between Israelis and Palestinians, including in Gaza. “I am not 100% sure if she is in Gaza or is dead on the ground in her house,” her son Yonatan Zeigan told the New York Times. “She works in the peace industry. … That was her life’s work. She was always invested in that, in making the world a better place, and she failed. … I hope she felt how much I love her.”
Unlike many other kibbutzes in Israel, Kibbutz Be’eri, which was founded in 1946 and moved to its current location in 1948, had remained a workers collective. Its two industries, a printing company and a food technology company, were successful, allowing residents a high quality of life, and many children who grew up on the kibbutz returned to raise their own families there.
A video circulating online appears to show the Hamas attackers entering the kibbutz by hiding in its guard station at the entrance gate, shooting into a car coming into the kibbutz and then using that car to open the gate.
Exclusive footage from the attack in Kibbutz Be’eri, where over 100 Israelis tragically lost their lives.
In this video, you can witness the chilling moments when Hamas terrorists approached the main gate of the kibbutz. After their initial attempt to breach the gate failed,… pic.twitter.com/dlvGnh2YGb
— Sacha Roytman (@SachaRoytman) October 10, 2023
“We were getting everyone into safe rooms and then gunfire began in several kibbutz neighborhoods,” one resident, Ofer Gitai, told the Israeli news site Walla. “At the beginning we didn’t understand the extent of the incident. We got a defense squad together that fought bravely against the terrorists. They fought face to face as the terrorists went into houses to murder residents.”
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The post More than 100 bodies found in Kibbutz Be’eri, as horrors of Hamas attack continue to unfold appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Saudi Arabia Rejects Israel PM Netanyahu’s Remarks on Displacing Palestinians
US President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk in the midst of a joint news conference in the White House in Washington, US, Jan. 28, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Saudi Arabia affirmed its categorical rejection of remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about displacing Palestinians from their land, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Israeli officials have suggested the establishment of a Palestinian state on Saudi territory. Netanyahu appeared to be joking on Thursday when he responded to an interviewer on pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 who mistakenly said “Saudi state” instead of “Palestinian state,” before correcting himself.
While the Saudi statement mentioned Netanyahu’s name, it did not directly refer to the comments about establishing a Palestinian state in Saudi territory.
Egypt and Jordan also condemned the Israeli suggestions, with Cairo deeming the idea as a “direct infringement of Saudi sovereignty.”
The kingdom said it valued “brotherly” states’ rejection of Netanyahu’s remarks.
“This occupying extremist mindset does not comprehend what the Palestinian territory means for the brotherly people of Palestine and its conscientious, historical and legal association with that land,” it said.
Discussions of the fate of Palestinians in Gaza has been upended by Tuesday’s shock proposal from President Donald Trump that the U.S. would “take over the Gaza Strip” from Israel and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere.
Arab states have roundly condemned Trump’s comments, which came during a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza war that Israel has been waging against the terrorist group Hamas, which controls the narrow strip.
Trump has said Saudi Arabia was not demanding a Palestinian state as a condition for normalizing ties with Israel. But Riyadh rebuffed his statements, saying it would not establish ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state.
The post Saudi Arabia Rejects Israel PM Netanyahu’s Remarks on Displacing Palestinians first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Egypt to Host Emergency Arab Summit on 27 February to Discuss ‘Serious’ Palestinian Developments
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Feb. 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
Egypt will host an emergency Arab summit on 27 February to discuss what it described as “serious” developments for Palestinians, according to a statement from the Egyptian foreign ministry on Sunday.
The summit comes amid regional and global condemnation of US President Donald Trump’s suggestion to “take over the Gaza Strip” from Israel and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere.
The post Egypt to Host Emergency Arab Summit on 27 February to Discuss ‘Serious’ Palestinian Developments first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Thai Nationals Held Captive by Hamas in Gaza Return Home
Relatives hug a released Thai hostage, who was kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas and held in Gaza, as the hostages arrive in Thailand following their release, at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, in Samut Prakan, Thailand, February 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
When Surasak Rumnao, 31, left his home in Thailand’s rural Udon Thani province three years ago to go across the world to the southern Israeli town of Yesha for agriculture work, his family never imagined they would lose touch with him for over a year when he was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in October 2023.
He and four others were reunited with their families this weekend after their release from captivity in Gaza.
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists abducted more than 250 people, including Israelis and foreign nationals, in their October 2023 attack on Israel.
During the attack, Hamas terrorists killed more than 40 Thais and kidnapped 31 Thai laborers, some of whom died in captivity, according to the Thai government. Later that year, the first group of Thai hostages was returned.
Surasak’s mother, Khammee Rumnao, was relieved that her son was not mistreated and has returned to his home, about 620 km(385 miles) northeast of the capital, Bangkok.
“He mainly got to eat bread, he was looked after well and was fed all three meals (each day). He got to shower, he was looked after well,” Khammee said, and that he ate whatever his captors had.
Her son does not plan to go back and wants to use the knowledge he gained in his agricultural work in Israel at their home, she said.
His grandparents and other relatives came to their home to welcome him home.
His stepfather, Janda Prachanan, was elated.
“I couldn’t find the words to describe how happy I am, that my son is safe and finally home,” he said.
Earlier on Sunday, the other returnees, dressed in winter jackets, were met with tears of joy from their families who were waiting for their arrival at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
“We are all deeply touched to come back to our birthplace … to be standing here,” said Pongsak Thaenna, one of the returnees said. “I don’t know what else to say, we are all truly thankful.”
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, who met the hostages in Israel after their release last week, expressed relief.
“This is emotional … to come back to the embrace of their families,” he said. “We never gave up and this was the fruit of that.”
Before the conflict, approximately 30,000 Thai laborers worked in Israel’s agriculture sector, making them one of the largest migrant worker groups in the country. Nearly 9,000 Thais were repatriated following the October 7 attacks.
The workers primarily come from Thailand’s northeastern region, an area comprising villages and farming communities that is among the poorest in the country.
Thailand’s foreign ministry said a Thai national is still believed to be held captive by Hamas.
“We still have hope and continue to work to bring them back,” Maris said, adding that this includes the bodies of two deceased Thai nationals.
The post Thai Nationals Held Captive by Hamas in Gaza Return Home first appeared on Algemeiner.com.