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Photo Essay: In Israel, Two Exhibitions Honor Victims, Heroes of Oct. 7
Haim Jelin, the former head of the Eshkol Regional Council and resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, got the date of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel tattooed on his arm. Photo: Erez Kaganovitz
Two exhibitions commemorating survivors and victims of the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas opened ahead of Israel’s Memorial Day on Sunday evening.
The first opened at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem on Thursday with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon in attendance. The exhibition, called “06:29- From Darkness to Light” — in reference to the exact moment that Hamas terrorists invaded Israel’s border with Gaza — features personal testimonies from 25 women who went through the horrors of the day that became known as Black Shabbat.
The exhibition’s producer, Malki Shem Tov, is the father of Omer Shem Tov, who is being held hostage in Gaza.
Visitors can walk through mockups of mobile shelters, where recordings of sirens and communication devices used on Oct. 7 can be heard.
Among the featured women are Yasmin Porat, who escaped the Nova music festival to Kibbutz Be’eri, where she was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists; Noam Ben David, who played dead for hours in a dumpster at the Nova festival; 15-year-old Ela Shani, who founded a public diplomacy project in memory of her father Yitzhak, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists, that caught the attention of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone; Ricarda Louk, mother of the late Shani Louk, who was murdered at the Nova festival; Miriam Beit Talmi, a Holocaust survivor from Kibbutz Zikim who was rescued under fire; Chen Almog Goldstein from Kfar Gaza, who was taken captive into Gaza with her children after her daughter and husband were murdered in their home; Mali Shoshana, the commander of the Sderot Police Station on that Saturday; and Lt. Col. Or Ben Yehuda, commander of the Karakal battalion on the Egyptian border who fought against dozens of terrorists in the Gaza Envelope, the areas of southern Israel near the Gaza border.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem, May 9, 2024. Photo: Guy Sidi
“For far too many months, weeks, and days, the light has been blocked by the dark shadows of a cloudy sky,” Herzog said at the exhibition’s opening. “And even though the sun seems to keep shining, we wake up to this cruel darkness each morning, which stays with us throughout the day. In this harsh reality, this important exhibition — here, in the Museum of Tolerance — brings such a precious and important voice that must be heard loud and clear.”
Museum of Tolerance CEO Yoni Riss said the testimonies presented in the exhibition are “proof of the strength that the citizens demonstrated” on Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel from Gaza, murdered 1,200 people, and abducted over 250 others amid other mass atrocities against the Israeli people.
“Alongside the great darkness, the shock, and the sorrow, the great light of Israeli society has been revealed. The volunteers, the fighters, the rescue teams, and defense forces — everyone rallied and demonstrated solidarity that gives us hope for the future,” he added.
“06:29- From Darkness to Light” exhibit at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem. The picture on the wall shows the burnt cars of festival-goers following the attack on the Nova Music Festival. Photo: Guy Sidi
A second exhibition, “Humans of October 7,” opened a day later at the German embassy in Tel Aviv
The ongoing project by photojournalist Erez Kaganovitz is part of a traveling exhibit that will be shown all over the world, including on college campuses such as Harvard, MIT, and Penn State.
It will mark Kaganovitz’s fourth photographic venture in the “Humans” series, after Humans of Israel, Humans of Tel Aviv, and Humans of the Holocaust, all of which received widespread praise in exhibitions globally.
Kaganovitz said he launched the project to “fight back” against rising antisemitism and misconceptions about the Jewish state “by showing the human side of Israel” and to serve as a “reminder of what Israeli society is all about and what we are actually fighting for.”
Haim Jelin, the former head of the Eshkol Regional Council and resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, got the date of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel tattooed on his arm. Photo: Erez Kaganovitz
Among the 30 Israelis featured in the series are survivors of Oct. 7 as well as people who have turned into national heroes, such as Rami Davidian, a farmer who rescued hundreds of people from the Nova festival. “I got into places where the army wouldn’t go — under fire and without weapons or bulletproof vests for protection. I had a goal to save as many people as I could,” he said.
Ruth Haran, Holocaust survivor who also survived Kibbutz Beeri massacre on Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: Erez Kaganovitz
Another portrait is of Hamid Abu Arar, a Bedouin from Gaza who saved the life of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers after his wife and another passenger in his car were murdered by Hamas terrorists. “I told myself: Hamid, you have to make a snap decision. I grabbed my baby, opened the electric cabinet doors, and ran toward the soldiers. I warned the soldiers that they were walking straight into an ambush,” he said. “If they had advanced five more meters, they would all have been shot dead on the spot. No question about it. It was a miracle that me and my baby survived and that the soldiers were saved.”
In late February, Abu Arar was granted permanent residency status by Israel in light of his heroism.
Hamid Abu Arar. Photo: Erez Kaganovitz
Kaganovitz said he hopes the exhibition will highlight “the unique Israelis who stood up against terrorism.”
“It shows Israeli DNA at its best and the incredible spirit and resilience of the Israeli people,” he told The Algemeiner.
Steffen Seibert, Germany’s ambassador to Israel, praised Kaganovitz for his ability to tell “the human stories behind this tragic day.”
“The 7th of October has left deep wounds in the Israeli psyche. But the courage and solidarity many Israelis have demonstrated during or after this horrific attack also convey a strong message of community and hope,” he said.
The post Photo Essay: In Israel, Two Exhibitions Honor Victims, Heroes of Oct. 7 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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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.