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The Cauldron of Horrors Is Both Real and Unreal
A Hanukkiyah, a candlestick used during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, stands on the remains of a burnt windowsill, following a deadly infiltration by Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip, in Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel, Oct. 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
JNS.org – Almost three months into the Israel-Hamas war, Jewish leaders are being guided through the villages of the Gaza envelope that were attacked on Oct. 7. I was part of a World Zionist Organization board mission and another mission organized by B’nai B’rith International.
The horrific scenes in Kfar Aza and Ofakim remain horrifying, despite the efforts to respectfully repair the signs of massacre. Body parts have been collected and removed. Pools of blood have been mostly mopped up. Untouched houseware and appliances, overturned furniture, torched and bent vehicles, even a Sukkah stand as the remnants of a once-peaceful life.
Yet the scorched houses are filled with reminders of what took place and who is fully accountable: Hamas. Something in this cauldron of horrors is both real and unreal. Not even the unpicked orange trees or violet blossoms can conceal the ravages of Oct. 7. These violated towns can be reborn, despite everything, because the residents have the passion, pride, will and resilience to live.
Meanwhile, the sounds of artillery and machine-gun fire break through the constant roar of jets and rescue helicopters. Periods of silence interrupt what an IDF spokesperson calls “a symphony of war.” But what we have witnessed speaks for itself.
There is no covering up what happened here in only a few hours. Hamas and Hamas alone is fully responsible, no matter what the court of public opinion—the media, depraved politicians, enemy activists and the United Nations—say about Israel’s military goals. Even most of the relatives of victims and hostages are fully onboard with the IDF’s operations, despite understandably conflicting views.
The work of volunteers from the south and the north who have come together to provide respite for IDF soldiers is impressive beyond words. The thumping of techno music fills the air in a festive atmosphere at Gilad Junction, where soldiers can be refreshed with food, snacks, soft drinks, massages, showers, haircuts, books—whatever they need. Volunteers can pack boxes with IDF-approved knee guards, special jackets, homemade cakes, cookies, candy and more.
In Tel Aviv, retired Israeli ambassadors have set up their own command center to “speak for and on behalf of” the hostages, who cannot speak for themselves. The newly renamed Hostage Square is a place where, among other activities, parents of hostages can share details of the harrowing experiences of their sons and daughters still held captive.
Parents of Nova festival victims share memories of the event held in the name of peace. One father describes the odd combination of suffering and joy he experienced when he heard that his son was alive after being told he had likely died. The hope that cuts through the pain is extraordinary. Another father shows up daily at the Tel Aviv Expo’s recreation of the Nova grounds, including tents, clothes, actual vehicles and portable toilets—bullet holes and all. These are evidence of the life that has survived the monstrous slaughter of 1,200 souls.
Israelis are pulling together in extraordinary ways. Hotels throughout the country are making space for families evacuated from their homes. One seaside high-rise hotel in Tel Aviv brought in four new washing machines and dryers just to facilitate cleaning clothes. Other spaces keep children cheerfully busy. Countless vacant apartments have been made available to other evacuees. It’s not uncommon for individuals simply to hand over the keys to perfect strangers.
The three-day World Zionist Organization mission includes a shiva call in Yanuh-Jatt, where we met the Druze family of Alim Abdallah, a hero who courageously fought and died for his country. We visit a nearby facility where Druze seamstresses sew 11,000 uniforms and patches a month for the IDF. The pain and gratitude are felt everywhere.
Then there’s Rabbi Doron Perez, executive chair of World Mizrachi and a WZO board member whose family experienced the collision of one son’s wedding and the news that another son had been taken hostage. Rabbi Perez relates how, at one moment, the family prayed for his son Daniel and the next moment celebrated a very happy wedding.
“For those three minutes it was very, very, very painful,” Rabbi Perez recalls in a soft voice.
But of the wedding, he says, “A close friend said it was the holiest, saddest, happiest and most inspirational event. I learned it’s possible to have such incredible angst, pain and worry; and it’s also possible to have incredible blessing and gratitude. Human beings are much stronger than we think we are. And the Jewish spirit is much stronger than we think it is, as we have had to struggle with such impossible dichotomies from the beginning of time.”
The post The Cauldron of Horrors Is Both Real and Unreal 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.