Page 16 - October 7 - Teresa Pirola

“ This article shares my memory of having travelled, four years earlier, to the area where the October 7 massacre took place. I posted it
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Memories of Israel, Near Gaza 18 October 2023
on my blog site (Light of Torah.net, 18 October 2023) and it was subsequently published by
The Southern Cross (Catholic Archdiocese of” Adelaide, 24 October 2023), Catholic Outlook (Diocese of Parramatta, 26 October 2023) and
The Catholic Leader (Archdiocese of Brisbane, 8 January 2024).
Four years ago, I visited Sderot and the small communities (kibbutzim) in Israel that lie close to the northern border of the Gaza strip.
The woman who showed us around had lived in a moshav (small agricultural community) of 900 people for over 20 years. Her children, the eldest turning 18, had slept in bomb shelters for much of their young lives. Such was life, with the all-too- familiar experience of sirens, Hamas rocket attacks launched from Gaza, as well as incendiary balloons that would set fire to the fields of Israelis, destroying their crops.
Bomb shelters were placed throughout these communities. Residents had 15 seconds to reach one when the siren sounded. These shelters were to be found in homes, bus stops, schools and children’s playgrounds, including one that was cleverly disguised as a giant smiling caterpillar.
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