The toll of clashes between Israel and Gaza has only increased since the surprise attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Zaka, a charitable organization, has been involved in identifying victims of attacks for 35 years. And collecting bodies. Its members, most of them orthodox religious Jews, are currently operating in southern Israel where the attack took place.
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From our permanent special envoy in Jerusalem, Sami Boukhelifa
It was Yossi Landau and his team who intervened in the kibbutz of Be’eri and Kfar Azza. These community villages, located on the outskirts of Gaza, are the hardest hit by the Hamas attack: “ If you ask me how many dead bodies I have seen in the last five days? My answer: around 650! Among the victims, there are children, babies who died with their fathers, mothers and grandparents. There are teenagers and even a pregnant woman “.
“ Islam never commanded such horrors to be committed »
How did he feel when he discovered the horror? “ Nothing. I have no feelings,” he said. “If I let my feelings take over, I’m dead,” asserts this father of ten children. He has been practicing his profession for 33 years, but admits to not understanding how such atrocities could have taken place. “Hamas, I don’t know what they are… but they are neither Arab nor Muslim. Islam has never commanded such horrors to be committed. The Arab world and Muslims must condemn them. These are not the teachings of Islam “.
A radio message announces the infiltration of Hamas commandos into Israeli territory. “ We are currently working in the worst conditions. Under fire from gunfire and rockets », concludes Yossi Landau.
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