'Everyone I know has somebody kidnapped or murdered by the terrorists.'
27-year-old Tal Hazi was on his honeymoon in Thailand when he heard about the horrible Hamas attack on Israel.
When the attack happened, his friends were close to the Gaza border attending the Nova music festival.
Tal wanted to return immediately when his homeland is under attack, but flights to Tel Aviv got cancelled.
A software engineer, Tal earlier served in the Israeli navy for four years. He will rejoin the navy the moment he is back in his country.
"Though my closest friends escaped the terrorists, some friends of my friends were kidnapped. Some got brutally murdered," Tal Hazi tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.
You were far away from your country and people when the Hamas attack happened. When did you hear the news?
I got married last month and we were in Thailand on our honeymoon.
It was not on TV or the Internet that we first got the news. It was my friends who told me we were under attack. They sent me videos of wounded people running for safety.
The news came on television much later.
Was your family affected by the attack?
No. The attack happened on the south of Israel, near the Gaza border. My family lives in Tel Aviv, quite far from where the attack happened. So, they were not affected.
But a lot of my closest friends were attending the music festival which was happening close to the border.
When I came to know where the attack happened, I messaged my friends enquiring about their whereabouts. For a very long time, there was no response from them. We were very worried about their safety.
Though my closest friends escaped the terrorists, some friends of my friends were kidnapped. Some got brutally murdered.
Were you able to talk to your friends who escaped? How terrifying was it for them?
They were so shaken that they just couldn't speak for a few hours.
Soon after the attack, people tried to escape in their cars, but were stopped by the terrorists who were in Israeli police uniform. Then they shot at the passengers indiscriminately.
Our friends left the car and ran away from the area to the nearest kibbutz (Jewish communal settlements).
In no time, the terrorists reached the kibbutz too. What happened after that was just horrifying.
They burnt the houses with people inside. They barged into some houses, dragged the people out and cut them to pieces.
They killed babies, they raped women. They then kidnapped whoever they saw.
From there, they went to the army base and killed the soldiers who were sleeping. They killed almost all the women soldiers too. Those who survived were taken as hostages to Gaza.
When I heard these stories from them and saw the videos of the mutilated bodies with blood splattered everywhere, I just wanted to go back home immediately.
Ours is a small country, and we know almost everyone living in our area including the soldiers. Everyone I know has somebody kidnapped or murdered by the terrorists.
My friends hid somewhere for almost eight hours before the army reached there to rescue them. In fact, they sent messages with their location to our friends, and that was how they were able to get help from the police and the army.
The attack happened in as many as 15 locations in the border area.
The Netanyahu government failed to protect the people, there was a huge intelligence failure. Are you and your friends angry with the government?
Definitely, the government and the army failed in their job. They are responsible for this attack. The soldiers slept on their shift.
Having said that, now our job is to win the war, and not talk about past mistakes.
I would have been there by now had our flight to Tel Aviv not been cancelled. We came to Greece from Thailand so that I could be closer to my country. Luckily, I will be back in Tel Aviv tomorrow (Friday, October 13).
Are you going to join the navy then?
Yes. As you know, every citizen of Israel has to serve in the army, air force or navy for four years.
I was in the navy for four years as a commanding officer leading many soldiers.
My wife also was in the navy. It was there that we met and fell in love.
When there is a war, they ask us to join back to serve the country. Once you are a soldier, you are always a soldier.
They asked me also to join, first as a reserve. As the situation unfolds, if they need me, I will be in the navy to win the war for my country.
My wife hasn't got a call yet. If she gets a call, she also will join.
In fact, they do not have to call us to fight, all of us consider it our duty to fight for our country. We consider ourselves as brothers and sisters. Look at the number of volunteers helping the wounded and affected.
Is this the worst terrorist attack that has happened in your memory? Many compare this to 9/11.
I would compare this attack to the Holocaust. I have heard stories of the Holocaust from old people; stories of how the houses of Jews were burnt, stories of how people were butchered including babies. I was told they didn't even spare pet dogs.
In the Holocaust, millions of innocent people were killed just because they were Jews.
The world promised that it would never happen again. But it happened on the 7th of October.
What has happened to our grandmothers, sisters, brothers and small children is unbelievable. The terrorists killed everybody, even babies and old people.
This is the worst that has happened in my memory. This is the worst that has happened in my parents' memory too.
How much has this attack affected you as a person?
Personally, we just got married and we were on our honeymoon. Ever since we heard the news of the attack, we don't feel happy. We are totally shattered seeing the images of the attack.
But I am sure we will win the war and stop Hamas forever.
We don't want any war. We only want to feel safe in our country, our only country.
Like our former prime minister Golda Meir said, there will be peace in this region only when they love their children more than they hate us.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
