The day began like any other at the Nova Festival in Kibbutz Re’im, with Millet Ben Haim and her friends eagerly anticipating the festivities. However, their joy was short-lived as air raid sirens suddenly sounded at 6:29 am, sending everyone into a panic.
Without warning, Hamas fighters stormed the festival site, causing chaos and destruction. The result of the attack was devastating, with 364 festival visitors dead and 40 taken hostage. Millet was one of the lucky ones who survived the attack but was left traumatized by what she witnessed that day.
In an interview with German newspaper Bild, Millet spoke about her life-changing experience. She described how the music had abruptly stopped due to the sound of rockets filling the sky. With her friends by her side, they tried to flee in their car but were stopped by terrorists shooting at people in cars ahead of them. They were forced to abandon their vehicle and ran for their lives on foot through fields before eventually hiding in a bush with three other women to avoid being found by terrorists.
Their prayers were answered when Ramy Davidian, a civilian who had saved over a hundred lives that day, found and rescued them from their hiding place. Now reunited with her family, Millet is grateful for their safety but struggling to cope with the trauma and loss resulting from the attack. She feels like a different person, unable to connect with friends or family and overwhelmed by the magnitude of what happened that day.
Despite everything that happened at Kibbutz Re’im on October 7th at 6:29 am, hope remains for those affected by this tragic event as they try to heal and move forward from this life-changing experience.