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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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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.