Witnessing the Unthinkable

I was among a very small group of journalists invited to witness a screening of 43 minutes of unedited, raw, and uncensored footage from the October 7th attack by Hamas. This footage, captured by body cams, CCTV, traffic cameras, and mobile phones, was put together by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Out of the 43 minutes, only 90 seconds have been released to the public. However, I saw it all and took detailed notes. Here is a comprehensive account of what I witnessed.

The Beginning of the Attack

The first clip opens with the smiling, excited face of a Hamas terrorist in the back of a Toyota pickup truck, waving his AK-47 in the air. With him are four others, all dressed in black with the signature green Hamas headband, holding tight to the sides of the truck as it speeds along a dusty track. After a few words in Arabic, the man filming begins an “Allahu Akbar” chant, joined by the others.

A Civilian’s Last Moments

The second clip, included in the 90 seconds of footage made public by the IDF, is a dash cam video from a civilian car. As the driver approaches, he sees armed men on the road. One of the men waves at the car and then fires at it. The panicked driver steps on the gas, but the car is peppered with bullets, cracking the glass. The driver, clearly hit, loses control, and the car veers off the road, smashing into a parked SUV.

The Tragedy of a Family

Two Hamas terrorists are then seen venturing into a kibbutz. A black dog, likely a Labrador, runs towards them. The man wearing the body cam fires three shots, killing the dog instantly. The next clip is almost too terrible to describe. It features a father and his two sons, cowering in fear in one of the rooms of their house, which has just been invaded by Hamas terrorists. As they try to escape, two terrorists enter the frame and execute the father in front of his sons. The blood from his gunshot wound spatters their faces and bodies. Naked and shivering, they bolt back into the house. CCTV cameras capture the two brothers wailing, wondering why they are still alive. The elder boy, still a minor, tends to his younger brother, asking if he can see well. Both their faces are completely covered in blood. Outside, a separate CCTV camera captures the mother arriving back home with two security guards. When she sees her husband, she collapses.

The Innocent Victims

The next picture is a still image of an infant in diapers with three gunshot wounds, including one in the head. It’s an unblurred version of the same image that the Israeli Foreign Ministry released days after the October 7th attack. More stills show a completely charred infant, the head of either an infant or a toddler, more charred infants, and a dog shot dead in a living room. Two still pictures show an ISIS flag on the floor, followed by pictures of a woman shot dead in a baby playroom and another slumped with gunshot wounds in a laundry room.

The Call Home

The next item is the full audio clip of a young Hamas terrorist who phones his parents in Gaza during the attack. “I killed her and her husband. I killed ten Jews people with my own hands. Dad, ten with my own hands. Dad open Whatsapp and see how I killed Dad. Open the phone, Dad, I’m calling on Whatsapp, open the phone, go. Dad, I’m talking from Mefalsim. I killed ten people. Ten with my own hands. Their blood is on my hands. Put Mom on the phone. Oh, my Son, God bless you!” Another home invasion by a group of Hamas terrorists shows them entering what appears to be a study. One of the home’s occupants is clearly under the table, though it’s not clear if he or she is alive or shot. The terrorists chant “Allahu Akbar” and fire onto the table. One of the terrorists is holding an American M4 A1 carbine.

The Aftermath

The final sequence of the 43 minutes features a survivor sifting through a field of ash and bone, looking for anything familiar. Charred bodies, rooms filled with mangled corpses, body parts, ashes with burnt organs, cars with charred bodies inside, and a skull lying to one side are all that is left. This is what Israel wants the world to see. This is what Israel wants the international community not to forget as it continues to focus, rightly so, on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Conclusion

As the scene cuts to black, the gravity of what I witnessed sinks in. The footage is a stark reminder of the brutal reality of the October 7th attack and the ongoing conflict. It is a call to the international community to remember how it all started and to understand the depth of the tragedy that has unfolded.