NOVA SURVIVAL STORY

POV: October 7th 2023.

2:40 AM
We arrive at Re’im parking lot, set up a small table, and start our evening, just the three of us, having fun.

3:30 AM
We enter the festival grounds. The decorations are so impressive. We start looking for a spot to set up our tents.

4:50 AM
Ofek goes to sleep, asking us to wake him up at sunrise.

5:30 AM
Sahar and I (Darya) hit the dancefloor, enjoying the music. We go to the bar, laugh, return, mess around.

6:15 AM
We wake Ofek up, just like he asked.

6:23 AM
We arrive back at the dancefloor. Ofek is still shaking off sleep, wrapped in a blanket, not yet warmed up from dancing.

6:29 AM
I need to use the bathroom. As I start walking and turn around, I see countless rockets in the sky. I run back to Ofek and Sahar, panicked, telling them to look because I can’t believe what I’m seeing. I ask them if they see what I see.

6:31 AM
The music stops, and an announcement is made over the speakers: there are rockets, and everyone must evacuate to the tent area.
We head back to our spot. Explosions are echoing from all directions, the ground is shaking, and we’re sure a rocket is going to hit us, and that’s it—the end.
We know this area is prone to heating up, but the sheer number of rockets flying above us feels unreal.
All we want is to get out of here. Pack ourselves up and leave.
I start to panic. Ofek tries to calm me down while focusing on the most critical thing—the car.
He goes to Sahar and tells him to head to the car through the fences and vehicles, pointing out the exact route with his hand.
Sahar runs to the car.
Around us, people are terrified, panicking, screaming, and stressed.
Ofek organizes our gear while I hug a tree, feeling as if it’s protecting me—at least, that’s what I think.

6:47 AM
Sahar, Ofek, and I are in the car, stuck in traffic at the emergency exit to the road.
Ofek isn’t one to wait, so he bypasses the line through the dirt and gets onto Route 232.

We turn right, heading south, following the security guards’ directions. Waze shows a left turn north.
In a split-second decision, we U-turn against the flow of traffic and head north—home.
We’re driving at breakneck speed when we notice about 20 vehicles U-turning ahead.
Did a rocket hit there?
A moment later, we realize it hasn’t—because we see live gunfire from terrorists.
We U-turn again.
Gaza is to our west. The road south is blocked. To the north, terrorists are shooting. How many are there? We have no idea. At this point, we still think we’re running from rockets.

I can’t stop yelling that I need to pee because I still haven’t gone. I shout at Ofek to pull over.

7:07 AM
We reach a shelter across from Kibbutz Be’eri. The shelter is completely empty.
I try to relieve myself as the sound of gunfire echoes very close to us.
We can’t find a place to evacuate to. As we try to figure out our next move, two unarmed Gazans approach us, shouting, “Death to Jews.” The feeling is terrible, like something bad is about to happen.
We run to the car and drive away in a panic.
Completely helpless, with no idea how to escape, we speed up and down the road.
There’s the entrance to Kibbutz Be’eri! Finally, we can breathe. We have somewhere to go. Surely someone will let us into their home—I’ll finally be able to pee, and we’ll have a safe place.

7:16 AM
The gate is locked.
As we drive, Ofek tells me to get out of the car as soon as he stops, so the guard will see me and open the gate to the kibbutz.
The car stops, I get out, and I run toward the booth. I lift my head and see five bullet holes in the glass and realize there’s a body inside.
At the same time, Ofek shouts from the car for me to come back because he sees three more bodies beyond the gate.
It’s a certain death trap.

7:17 AM
Ofek reverses the car at lightning speed. We’re back on the main road, once again clueless about what to do. Helplessness takes over our bodies, and fear seeps in. We stop to figure out our way home.

7:20 AM
Ofek calls the police. As he’s on the line, he realizes our only way out is to escape eastward, through the fields. He asks the officer for guidance on how to navigate the area.
The officer replies, “I have dozens of calls like yours. Unfortunately, I can’t help you. My advice is to leave your car, hide, and pray.”
Ofek hangs up, and at that moment, the three of us see people entering the shelters we were in earlier, hoping they’ll protect them from the rockets.
We debate in the car whether to go in too. A quick brainstorming session, with the sound of gunfire in the background, leads us to realize that if we enter a shelter, we’ll be like sheep to the slaughter.

7:25 AM
We head back on the road toward Re’im. The drive isn’t short, but we don’t feel it because Ofek is speeding down the road.
From a distance, we see a massive gathering of cars at the festival exit, and Ofek spots a police car. He decides to stop near it. A “Red Alert” rocket siren blares, and the officers instruct everyone to get out of their cars and take cover.
There are masses of people around us, screaming and crying. Those by the side of the road are already being hit by bullets.
As I hide, crying and terrified, Ofek lifts his head and realizes Sahar isn’t with us.
We don’t know where he is. He’s disappeared, and so have the car keys.
We start shouting for him and calling his phone, not moving from our spot. The car is still with us.

7:35 AM
Sahar sees three people wounded and bleeding from their legs and decides to find a way to get everyone far from here. He approaches a nearby officer and suggests opening a route through the fields to evacuate everyone eastward. The officer says it’s impossible because it’s a closed military area, so Sahar decides to take responsibility into his own hands, return to us, and inform as many people as he can around him that our only escape is through the fields, heading east.

7:40 AM
Sahar comes running back to us. We see him shouting, “Left, left!” He throws the keys to Ofek, and the three of us jump into the car.
We begin a wild drive through rugged terrain full of rocks and pits, trying not to hit the people running around us. We realize that if we stop, the car will get stuck.

8:14 AM
We reach a dead end in the field, becoming the third car in a convoy. Another 40 cars are behind us.
We turn around, searching for another way to escape.

8:32 AM
We understand we’re deep in the fields, surrounded by constant rocket fire. I still need to pee, and the situation isn’t helping. I feel like maybe we’re not going home today and start saying “Shema Israel” in the car.

8:45 AM
We’re still in the fields when we suddenly see a group of people hysterically changing a flat tire. Ofek stops near one of them, who looks like a local, and asks how to get out of the field and home. The man doesn’t hesitate for a moment and says, “In 500 meters, turn left. After that, take another left. Drive all the way, and you’ll reach an exit to the highway.”

8:53 AM
From a distance, we see a road where people are driving fast. We can’t believe it. Could it be that we’re safe?