The Survival Story of Shai Hermesh on October 7th
Published on: 17.11.2023
By: David Parsons, ICEJ Vice President & Senior Spokesman

The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem has a long-standing relationship with our good friend Shai Hermesh, a former Knesset member. In fact, Shai credits the ICEJ with saving his life some ten years ago when he ducked into a bomb shelter we had placed in his home community of Kfar Aza during a rocket barrage from Gaza. Shai recently managed to escape harm yet again when he survived the horrific Hamas-led massacre of October 7.

We had just seen Shai two days before when the ICEJ took some 700 Christians on a solidarity visit to the Gaza border area near the end of our week-long Feast of Tabernacles celebration. At a rally that day in the high school of the Sha’ar HaNegev regional council, Shai delivered a warm welcome greeting to our Feast pilgrims alongside mayor Ofir Libstein.

Two days later, we awoke to rocket alarms in Jerusalem and across Israel. As the minutes passed that morning, more and more upsetting news emerged from the Gaza border. At 8:00 AM, ICEJ President Dr. Juergen Buehler called our friend Ofir Lipstein to check if he was okay. His phone did not answer. Not long after, he was the first named casualty of the unfolding Hamas pogrom.

Juergen also tried and failed to reach Shai Hermesh. Not long after, he received a recorded phone message through a mutual friend with the desperate voice of Shai Hermesh speaking from his safe room in Kfar Aza. Somehow, he and his wife managed to hide as outside Hamas terrorists were slaughtering many of his neighbours. After 20 hours in their safe room, they were finally able to escape to safety in the middle of the night.

Ten days later, we caught up with Shai at a kibbutz in central Israel, where many of the Kfar Aza survivors were being sheltered. Here is a partial transcript of our interview with Shai on how he survived that day.

David Parsons: Shai, tell us what you went through on October 7th?

Shai Hermesh: What happened on Shabbat morning was what we are used to having: a heavy [rocket] attack, more heavier than we knew before, but we know what to do. All the families, everyone, walked to their sheltered room, everyone in his apartment.

When that ended by a boom, we left the shelter room and we returned back to the salon, the living room. That was the technique by the terrorists in order to penetrate under the cover of the [rocket] attack. As families returned back to the salon in their homes, they were surprised and were attacked by the terrorists. They slaughtered family by family. No army [soldiers] were there for four hours.

There’s an emergency unit in every kibbutz. They used to have rifles in order to protect us until the army joins in. So, the first, I say, protective wall crashed down. I don’t know whether it’s the first or the second. I think the first one is the border [fence] which we can… We are still under shock how it happened. Israel invested five billion shekels on the buffer [wall] and it fell down in 30 minutes. But that’s not our story. When they arrived, they met our security staff.

DP: They broke through the front gate?

SH: It’s more complicated. They’ve been so sophisticated that a part of them were running in the road, they started shooting and killing families. That was just the beginning. Now they put an ambush in the gate. And when the first unit of the army arrived there [and opened the gate], they shot them and four of the soldiers were killed. The army… couldn’t imagine that one unit of the terrorists [could penetrate our community] by putting an ambush at the gate.

DP: So, the gate was then open, and they could come in?

SH: They come in … and four of the soldiers have been killed. What we did, every one of us returned back to the sheltered room and closed the door.

DP: Do they lock from the inside or not?

SH: Immediately, we see how unprepared and unknowing we were – all of us! How naive we had been – all of us. Then we start running an alert of emergency on the WhatsApp group of the kibbutz. A group of people said: “Terrorists are in our home shooting, breaking, speaking Arabic.” We are in the sheltered room. We are afraid they’re going to break in, and they try to break in. Now the system within a sheltered room, it works just the opposite. It means it’s enabled to open the door from outside. It enables opening of the window, the air window from the outside. Once I asked [about this] years ago. I was naïve. They told me it should be like that because they say if the sheltered room will be attacked by a heavy mortar shell and there will be casualties there or a fire, you need someone [from outside] to enable you to escape.

There are some examples of members of the kibbutz who held [the shelter’s door handle] for hours, brave people, in order to avoid… [the terrorists] penetrating the shelter room. Some places they succeeded to do it. Some places they failed. In some places they failed but people were wounded because they shot with the Kalashnikovs at the lock of the door, and people [were holding] it there. Everyone was calling for help and no one could help.

My son, Omer, his place is unknown until now, 48 years old, not married. He lived in his apartment in the first area, in the first block where the terrorists penetrated [the kibbutz] and killed everyone. He heard noises, he went to the window and moved the curtain and told me: “Abba [father], I see three black [clothed] people running and shooting.” And he sent a picture of the blood on his hand and said: “Father, don’t worry! It’s all destroyed around [here], the blood is nothing, and I’m escaping to the safety room.” My son is missing, he’s not… if he would be kidnapped by the Hamas, the army has the list of names, he is not there.

DP: Your son, Omer Hermesh, 48, is still missing…

SH: Yes. And my daughter just gave birth to a baby. She returned from hospital after a C-section on [Tuesday]. We planned a brit milah on Sunday afternoon. She stayed in a sheltered room with a baby five days old, with a granddaughter three-and-a-half years old, with a dog and with her husband. They are my grandchildren. While there, her situation was much worse than me, because the terrorists were non-stop knocking on the iron door with a window, and trying to open it. They didn’t succeed, if they were able to succeed to open it, they would kill them in a second. And for 20 hours, they sat quietly. Not one of them wept, not one of them cried, no one said where they were, including the dog. All with no food, with no water, with nothing, for 20 hours they did not go out. We did not analyze that they could open the door. We sat there and said: “Okay, now we’re in the safe room.”

DP: So, the doors never really fastened?

SH: What was the miracle? They simply did not penetrate into our apartment. That’s all! If they would have entered, we would not sit here now and talk.

DP: So, you escaped at night after 20 hours, and then your house was destroyed because Hamas gunmen finally got in and were using it as a stronghold. It was too risky to try and storm it?

SH: All we have was lost. Sixty years of collecting and building in the apartment. Albums, memories, pictures, I’m not talking about valuable properties. I don’t care about that. But the whole story of the family, all the memories are now under the ruins…

Let me add that your presence here is not unusual. You [ICEJ] are with us everywhere. [Operation] Protective Edge in 2014, you were the ones who came into Kfar Aza under the rocket fire and put the sheltered room. We can’t forget it, everywhere.

DP: You said it saved your life, one of our bomb shelters had saved your life one time?

SH: Really, it’s not a joke. So, I have to say thanks to the Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, the staff and the supporting congregations all around the world, on behalf of the people here, [who] are really feeling like refugees or survivors. Refugees is not enough, we’re like survivors because we are Jews. We don’t have the words in order to thank all of you, and encourage you for all that you’re doing, your commitment, your support. You being with us at the most difficult time, and I can’t find a more critical time than it is now, which the people here are survivors but by miracle. We did not fight. I have never been so scared, and I’ve been at risk and under fire [before]. What we found in those 20 hours, it’s a trauma that will take years for us to recover and understand the impact of that on us, on our children, our grandchildren and for generation to come. Who knows?

POST-SCRIPT: An hour after our interview with Shai Hermesh, he was informed that the body of his son Omer had been identified. He was found lying not far from his home in Kfar Aza.

The tragic toll that day came to over 1,200 dead, and more than 240 taken hostage. The Hamas terrorists brutally raped women, tortured victims, and even beheaded children. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called it the worst single day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Everyone was shocked at how this could have happened, especially 50 years exactly since the surprise attack on Yom Kippur.

The Christian Embassy has been investing in the security and well-being of the Gaza border communities for more than 15 years now, and we are committed to helping them rebuild their lives and homes in the days ahead. Please consider a generous gift to our Israel in Crisis fund to help with these worthwhile endeavours.

10月7日 Shai Hermesh 的生存故事
發佈於: 17.11.2023
作者：大衛柏森斯，ICEJ 副總裁兼資深發言人

耶路撒冷國際基督徒大使館與我們的好朋友、前以色列議會議員謝伊·赫爾梅什（Shai Hermesh）有著長期的合作關係。事實上，Shai 認為，大約十年前，ICEJ救了他一命，當時他在加沙的火箭襲擊中躲進了我們在他家鄉卡法阿扎社區設置的防空洞。 Shai 最近在 10 月 7 日哈馬斯領導的可怕大屠殺中生還下來，再次逃脫了傷害。

兩天前，我們剛剛見過 Shai，當時 ICEJ 帶著大約 700 名基督徒前往加薩邊境地區進行聲援訪問，為期一周的住棚節慶祝活動即將結束。那天，在 Sha’ar HaNegev 地區議會高中的一次集會上，Shai 與市長 Ofir Libstein 一起向我們的節期朝聖者致以熱烈的歡迎。

兩天後，我們醒來時耶路撒冷和以色列各地都響起了火箭警報。 那天早上，隨著時間的流逝，加沙邊境傳來了越來越多令人不安的消息。上午8:00，ICEJ總裁尤根布勒博士致電我們的朋友 Ofir Lipstein，詢問他是否還好。他的電話無人接聽。不久之後，他成為哈馬斯大屠殺中第一個被命名的受害者。

尤爾根也嘗試聯繫謝·赫爾梅什，但未能成功。 不久之後，他透過一位共同的朋友收到了一條錄音電話留言，裡面有謝·赫爾梅什 在他位於卡法阿扎的安全房間裡絕望的聲音。 不知何故，他和他的妻子設法躲藏起來，因為外面的哈馬斯恐怖分子正在屠殺他的許多鄰居。 在安全室待了20個小時後，他們終於在半夜逃到了安全地帶。

十天後，我們在以色列中部的一個基布茲見到了謝·赫爾梅什，許多卡法阿扎生還者都在那裡避難。 以下是我們採訪 Shai 的部分文字記錄，內容是關於他那天如何倖存的。

大衛‧帕森斯：Shai，請告訴我們你在10月7日經歷了什麼？

Shai Hermesh：安息日早上發生的事情是我們所習慣的：猛烈的[火箭]攻擊，比我們之前知道的更猛烈，但我們知道該怎麼做。所有的家庭，每個人，都走向他們的庇護室，每個人都在他的公寓裡。

當這一切隨著一聲巨響結束時，我們離開了避難室，回到了客廳。 這是恐怖分子利用[火箭]攻擊進行滲透的技術。 當家人回到家中的客廳時，他們感到驚訝並遭到恐怖分子的襲擊。 他們一家一家地屠殺。四小時內沒有軍隊[士兵]在那裡。

每個基布茲都有一個應急小組。他們曾經有步槍來保護我們，直到軍隊加入。所以，我說，第一堵防護牆倒塌了。我不知道是第一還是第二。 我認為第一個是邊界[圍欄]，我們可以…我們仍然對它是如何發生的感到震驚。 以色列投資50億謝克爾建造緩衝牆，30分鐘後就倒塌了。 但這不是我們的故事。 當他們到達時，他們遇到了我們的保安人員。

DP：他們衝破了前門？

SH：這個比較複雜。 他們太老練了，以至於其中一部分人在路上奔跑，開始開槍殺害家人。那是開始。現在他們在城門口埋伏了。當第一支軍隊到達那裡[並打開大門]時，他們開槍射擊，四名士兵被殺。軍隊……無法想像恐怖分子的一支部隊可以透過在門口伏擊來滲透到我們的社區。

DP：那麼，大門打開了，他們就可以進來了？

SH：他們進來了……四名士兵被殺。 我們每個人都回到了避難室，關上了門。

DP：它們是否從內部鎖定？

SH：我們立刻就發現我們所有人是多麼的毫無準備和無知！ 我們所有人都曾經多麼天真。 然後我們開始在基布茲的 WhatsApp 群組上發出緊急警報。 一群人說：「恐怖分子在我們家裡開槍，破壞，說阿拉伯語。」 我們在庇護室裡。 我們擔心他們會闖入，他們試圖闖入。現在，系統在庇護室內，其工作原理恰恰相反。 這意味著它可以從外面開門。 它可以從外面打開窗戶、空氣窗。幾年前我曾經問過這個問題。我很天真。他們告訴我應該是這樣，因為他們說如果避難室受到重型迫擊砲彈的攻擊，那裡會造成人員傷亡或火災，你需要[從外面]有人來幫助你逃脫。

有一些例子表明，基布茲的成員勇敢地握住[避難所的門把手]幾個小時，以避免…[恐怖分子]滲透到避難所的房間。 有些地方他們成功做到了。有些地方他們失敗了。在有些地方他們失敗了，但人們受傷了，因為他們用卡拉什尼科夫衝鋒槍射擊門鎖，而人們把門鎖在那裡。每個人都在呼救，但沒有人能夠提供幫助。

我的兒子奧馬爾，至今下落不明，48歲，未婚。他住在第一個區域的公寓裡，在恐怖分子滲透[基布茲]並殺死所有人的第一個街區。他聽到聲音，走到窗前拉開窗簾，告訴我：“阿爸[父親]，我看到三個黑人[穿衣服的]人跑著開槍。”並發了一張手上血跡的照片，說：「爸爸，別擔心！ [這裡]周圍都被毀了，血已經什麼都不是了，我要逃到安全室。”我的兒子失蹤了，他不……如果他被哈馬斯綁架，軍隊有名單，他不在那裡。

DP：你的兒子，Omer Hermesh，48 歲，仍然失蹤...

SH：是的。 而且我女兒剛生了孩子。她於[星期二]進行剖腹產手術後從醫院返回。我們計劃在周日下午舉辦一場英國米拉活動。她和一個五天大的嬰兒、一個三歲半的孫女、一隻狗和她的丈夫住在一個庇護所裡。他們是我的孫子。在那裡，她的情況比我糟糕得多，因為恐怖分子不停地敲打有窗戶的鐵門，並試圖打開它。他們沒有成功，如果能夠成功打開，他們就會秒殺他們。20個小時裡，他們靜靜地坐著。他們沒有人哭泣，沒有人哭，沒有人說他們在哪裡，包括那隻狗。他們沒有食物，沒有水，什麼都沒有，20小時沒有出去。 我們沒有分析他們可以開門。 我們坐在那裡說：「好吧，現在我們在安全室裡了。」

DP：所以，門從來沒有真正關上過？

SH：奇蹟是什麼？ 他們根本沒有闖入我們的公寓。 就這樣！ 如果他們進來了，我們現在就不會坐在這裡說話了。

DP：所以，20 小時後你在晚上逃脫了，然後你的房子被摧毀了，因為哈馬斯槍手最終進入並把它用作據點。嘗試強攻是不是太冒險了？

SH：我們所擁有的一切都失去了。 六十年的公寓收集和建造。相簿、回憶、照片，我不是說有價值的財產。我不在乎這個。 但整個家庭的故事，所有的記憶，現在都化為廢墟了…

讓我補充一點，你出現在這裡並不罕見。你 [ICEJ] 與我們在一起。[行動]保護之刃 2014年，你們是在火箭攻擊下進入卡法阿札並安置庇護室的人。無論在何處，我們不能忘記它。

DP：你說它救了你的命，我們的防空洞之一曾經救過你的命？

SH：真的，這不是玩笑。因此，我必須代表這裡的人民向耶路撒冷基督徒大使館、工作人員和世界各地支持的會眾表示感謝，他們真的感覺自己像難民或生還者。難民還不夠，我們就像生還者，因為我們是猶太人。我們無法用語言來感謝你們所有人，並鼓勵你們所做的一切、你們的承諾和支持。你們在我們最困難的時刻和我們在一起，我找不到比現在更關鍵的時刻了，這裡的人們奇蹟般地生還下來。我們沒有打架。我從來沒有這麼害怕過，[以前]我也曾面臨過危險和攻擊。 我們在這 20 小時內發現的情況是一種創傷，我們需要數年時間才能恢復並了解它對我們、我們的子孫以及子孫後代的影響。誰知道？

後記：在我們採訪 Shai Hermesh 一小時後，他被告知他兒子奧馬爾的屍體已被確認身份。 他被發現躺在距離卡法阿扎家不遠的地方。

當天的悲劇造成 1,200 多人死亡，240 多人被扣為人質。 哈馬斯恐怖分子殘酷強姦婦女、折磨受害者，甚至斬首兒童。以色列總統艾薩克·赫爾佐格稱這是自大屠殺以來猶太人民最糟糕的一天。 每個人都對如何發生這種事感到震驚，尤其是距離贖罪日突襲已經過去 50 年了。

15 年來，基督徒大使館一直致力於加沙邊境社區的安全和福祉，我們致力於幫助他們在未來的日子裡重建生活和家園。請考慮向我們的以色列危機基金慷慨捐贈，以幫助開展這些有價值的努力。