Here Lived
The Butelmann Family: A family of four – Diana, the mother; Liel, the oldest daughter; and the twins, Ilai and Lishai. In 2010, the father of our family was killed in a work accident, and we have lived as a family of four ever since. Ilai had suffered from trauma since Operation Cast Lead in 2014, yet aside from that, we lived a wonderful life on the kibbutz. From time to time, there were occasional rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, but we learned to live with that.
October 7th
On October 7, we awoke to the sound of sirens. We immediately ran to our safe room, assuming this was simply another round of rockets. We did not yet understand the enormity of the tragedy that had just begun. But once ten minutes had passed, we saw that this was not the regular rocket fire that we had grown accustomed to. We heard gunshots and explosions, and received a message in the kibbutz group chat that there were terrorists in the area of the kibbutz clinic. Lishai quickly ran to close as many windows as she could. The hours spent in the safe room were filled with fear. We could feel death with every second that passed. From the moment we entered the safe room, Ilai held the door handle, the girls sat with their cellphones, and mom spoke with the family and with others on the kibbutz. After a number of hours had passed, we heard gunshots fired at our house and began to say our final good-byes to family and friends. We soon realized a miracle had occurred – they had decided not to enter our house, only to shoot at it. We began to call for help on the kibbutz group. We heard them close by, voices calling out in Arabic, knocking on the window of the safe room. We felt helpless. At around 6 pm, the army arrived along with a member of the kibbutz, and they led us out of the house. We were taken to the command center and gathering point on the kibbutz, where we were reunited with the rest of our kibbutz community.
What Happened Since
Today, one year later, after losing so many friends, we are trying to continue living alongside the tragedy we experienced. Liel began her army service. The twins returned to school and have made new friends. And mom is trying to get back to herself.
