Standing on the site of the Tribe of Nova music festival in the Negev Desert about three miles from the Gaza Strip that was attacked by Hamas fighters the morning of October 7, Alon Penzel discussed with a group of international journalists his book collecting eyewitness testimonies of the day the 2023 Israel-Hamas war began.
"I tried to convey what I could to the international community," Penzel, a 23-year-old gay man who used to be a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces and is now a second-year political science student at the University of Haifa, told the Bay Area Reporter during a recent press trip to the region.
"Every story here has been verified very carefully. What I haven't verified is not in the book," Penzel said, before going on to relate stories of beheadings and sexual violence.
At the festival, "there was a situation where a man tells about how he ran, from one tree to another, how he ran from tree to tree, got shot and still ran, and during the run he could see people get shot and fall." Festivalgoers made fateful decisions whether they should "keep running, or try to help their friends and family members," he said.
Penzel said he compiled "Testimonies Without Boundaries, Israel: October 7th 2023" after hearing conspiracy theories that the attacks didn't target civilians.
He did concede some initial reports that spread on Israeli social media — such as 40 children allegedly beheaded by Hamas — turned out to be false.
"There is already denial, but this is our reality," Penzel said. "Documenting that reality is extremely significant."
At the music festival alone 364 civilians were killed, and at least 40 hostages were taken. A total of 1,139 people were killed by Hamas during that day's incursion into Israel, including 764 civilians, and of the 251 taken hostage, 116 remain in captivity as of press time.
The war unleashed as a result of the attack has killed at least 39,000 Palestinians as Israel has conducted an extensive bombing campaign and a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip with the stated goal of destroying Hamas, which has governed the enclave — one of the two Palestinian territories, along with the West Bank — since 2007.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has stated the goal of the war is "the destruction of Hamas' military and governmental capabilities."
Penzel, citing October 7, agrees.
"We have a duty to protect our people," he said. "We can't let organizations who massacre just keep going."
Differing opinions
But not everyone in Israel agrees that the destruction of Hamas is possible. Some are saying they'd accept a ceasefire if the hostages are returned. The Associated Press reported July 7 that protesters blocked highways on the nine-month anniversary of the massacre, demanding Netanyahu step down.
Gilad Korngold, whose son Tal Shoham is a hostage in Gaza, went so far as to tell reporters on the press trip that "I don't care about Hamas."
"The war must be stopped now," he said. "There's no price for our hostages."
The June 23-27 trip the B.A.R. participated in was paid for by the American Middle East Press Association, a nonprofit that states it seeks to serve as "a trusted resource for journalists looking for experts and spokespeople on the current conflict and beyond." AMEPA brought two American reporters on the press trip, "Wartime in Israel," with its counterpart, the Europe Israel Press Association, which itself brought 22 journalists from the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Neither organization is funded by the Israeli government, nor was there any pre-approval of interview questions, article topics, or requests to view articles before publication.
Hostage families speak out
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum works out of a skyscraper in Tel Aviv, a short walk from Hostages Square, where art installations, posters, handwritten notes, and even a mock tunnel meant to simulate those under Gaza where some of the hostages are believed to be held remember those in Hamas captivity. Ubiquitous stickers and posters on street signs, cars, homes, and businesses — as well as yellow ribbons on lapels — keep the hostage crisis front-of-mind for Israelis.
In the forum's office, the international press met with Korngold along with Luis Har, who was kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak and held hostage until his rescue after 129 days, and Dani Miran, the father of hostage Omri Miran.
The forum does not take a position on Israeli government policy in order to represent the widest number of hostage families, according to Daniel Shek, former Israeli ambassador to France and consulate general to the Pacific Northwest of the United States based in San Francisco.
"Wherever you stand on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, what is happening here, the fact these people are abducted in Gaza is simply not right," Shek said. "It's simply not right. It's a humanitarian issue that is universal. You can continue fighting for the Palestinians after this is made right."
Shek translated for Har, who was speaking in Hebrew.
"The captors at the beginning were very aggressive and were tough, but there were different groups of captors with different roles," Har said. "The guy who was with us in the place where we stayed the longest — the guy they called him the landlord — he told us we were abducted in order to exchange us for Palestinian prisoners."
Har and the landlord developed almost a rapport until Har's rescue by an IDF raid in February.
"The truth is he kept us safe even from his colleagues," Har said. "The others were tougher, they were yelling at us not to come close to the window, silenced us, but he made sure it never went over to real violence. With him I had discussions, real conversations, but not with the others."
Miran told the story of his son's kidnapping by Hamas from Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Miran has three sons and a daughter; his son Omri is married with two daughters. He called October 7 "the darkest day of my life."
"The distance between Nahal Oz and the border of Gaza is 700 meters, less than half a mile," Miran said in Hebrew, speaking through a translator. "Around 6:30 in the morning on Saturday I opened the television and saw the red alert, which means missiles are coming into Israel. So I called my son, Omri, to ask how he and the family were because I usually worry when these things happen. And my son Omri said, 'There are a few missiles. ... Don't worry.'"
Miran said he saw videos released by Hamas showing the carnage of that morning throughout southern Israel.
"I called my son again," Miran said. "I said, 'What is happening?' and my son says, 'I'm standing by the window and I see the whole kibbutz is full of terrorists.' So Omri says he's with his wife and two little girls in the safe room. He himself went to the kitchen to get two knives because he had no arms with him. That was the situation."
Miran got the last text from his son around 11 a.m.
"What do you think I felt at that moment, when there was no answer from my son?" he asked. "I felt that moment when there was no answer from my son that everyone was killed. I had no control over my feelings."
At 6 p.m. Miran got a call from the mother of his daughter-in-law, who lived in Sderot, another southern Israeli city. She said her daughter and the two girls were OK but Omri "was abducted and taken as a hostage to Gaza," Miran recalled.
While he was grateful the rest of the family was alive, Miran said he asked himself "What am I going to see now with my son?"
All three agreed that the government's aim should be the return of the remaining hostages.
"Hamas is an idea," Korngold said. "Israel didn't do anything about Hamas for 30 years. We have to say it and say it and say it."
That sentiment repeats a statement made a few days prior by IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari, who in a disagreement with the Netanyahu administration, said in an Israeli TV interview that, "Hamas is an idea. ... it's rooted in the hearts of the people — anyone who thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong."
Ehud Yaari, senior Arab affairs commentator and analyst for Israel's Channel 12 News, told the international reporters that Israeli troops don't need to be on the ground in Gaza in perpetuity to prevent another October 7.
"The battle against Hamas will continue," Yaari said about the day after. "Different intensity, different deployment, but we are going after them, and there is no debate between the opposition and Bibi [Netanyahu]. If a squadron pops up, they'll get killed."
With at least 60,000 Israelis still displaced in the north due to Hezbollah (which, like Hamas, is allied with Iran) rocket attacks from Lebanon since the October 7 attacks, the winding down of the Gaza operation may come sooner than later.
But Yaari said to expect that without a hostage deal. President Joe Biden and both Democratic presumptive presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee urged Netanyahu to take a hostage deal on the table during his U.S. visit last week.
"It's up to Sinwar," Yaari said, referring to Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas chief in Gaza. "It's very clear if the Israelis get the hostages, they'll eventually get to him."
Asked about that scenario where all the hostages don't get released, Korngold said, "It could happen. We have to start with something. If you say 'no, no, no,' I don't care about Sinwar or Hamas. They have to do everything to release the hostages."
Yaari characterized the war as Israel's greatest crisis since independence, painting a picture of Hamas and Hezbollah waging a war of attrition (as opposed to an all-out attempt to destroy Israel) at the behest of Iran, which is fighting for dominance of the region against Saudi Arabia, and major non-NATO U.S. allies Egypt and Jordan.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shi'ite group, joins the Houthi movement in Yemen and various armed Shi'ite groups in Iraq and Syria, as well as Hamas in an "axis of resistance" to Israel and American interests in the Middle East, Reuters reports.
Israeli, US governments clash on settlements
Yaari was critical of the Netanyahu administration for allying with right-wingers and undercutting the judiciary's independence. Among the right-wingers are National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who said he supported the "voluntary departure of the residents of Gaza."
There have been no Israeli settlements in Gaza since the IDF's unilateral withdrawal in 2005. But Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered a major obstacle in the peace process and the establishment of an independent Palestine, and have been condemned by the U.S. and United Nations as violating international law.
The U.N. reported that over 500 people have been killed since October 7 by Israeli security forces and settlers. In February, Biden imposed sanctions on "persons undermining peace, security and stability in the West Bank."
Amichai Chikli, Israel's minister of diaspora affairs, doesn't agree with the U.S. and international position on West Bank settlements, telling the international press unequivocally during a briefing in Jerusalem that "there is no future for a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria," referring to the West Bank.
"Judea is the core of the Jewish nation," he said.
The B.A.R. asked Chikli how Israel can expect continued American support going forward as the countries' disagreement on the matter widens.
"America," he sighed. "We still have very good friends in the Democratic Party. You have congressmen such as Ritchie Torres [a gay, pro-Israel Democrat from New York] and others. They support a two-state solution, and I said I don't have a problem with anyone who supports a two-state solution."
Chikli continued that the two-state solution had been proposed several times to no avail.
"Maybe after 100 years, it's time to rethink the two-state solution," he said. "In America, we have very good friends in the Democratic Party. I hope we have bipartisan support. I don't know about the future after what we saw on U.S. campuses."
Since October 7, there've been thousands of arrests at over 50 schools that have seen demonstrations against Israel, as reported by Politico, in the most widespread campus unrest in five decades. Only one of three elite college presidents who recently testified before Congress still has a job after all three declined to say definitively if calling for the genocide of Jews violated their schools' policies, an event referenced by Chikli as he continued his answer.
"I think that's a big deal," he said. "It's too early to point out what's going to happen."
The B.A.R. directed the question back to the issue of settlements.
"I think it's OK to have different opinions," he said. "It depends on public opinion. Where is America headed? ... It's too early to make statements. We are in the event."
Humanitarian crisis in Gaza
Returning to Tel Aviv from the Negev, Penzel discussed Israel's efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
In addition to the 39,000 killed (Israel claims 14,000 of those were combatants), between 10,000 and 21,000 are missing, over 87,000 wounded, and 1.9 million (90% of the population) displaced. Over half of the dead are reportedly women and children.
There are significant shortages of every supply in Gaza — water, food, fuel, medicine, and medical supplies.
The World Health Organization "noted outbreaks of acute respiratory infections, scabies, lice, diarrhea, skin rash, chickenpox, and hepatitis associated jaundice," according to a February report, which also showed over 1,000 patients in need of kidney dialysis, over 200,000 cases of acute respiratory infections, and over 152,734 cases of diarrhea. Over half the cases of diarrhea were in children under five — a rate that had risen 23 times in just two years.
"Since the beginning of the war, 35,000 trucks have carried humanitarian equipment into the Gaza Strip," Penzel said June 25 (that number, according to a running total on an Israeli government website is now 38,870 as of July 8.)
Penzel said that 680,000 tons of "humanitarian equipment, including water, food, and medical supplies" were delivered (that number is now 734,475, according to the website as of July 8.)
There've been 130 airdrops containing 9,809 packages, according to the website. The countries leading in donations are Germany, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Belgium, Jordan, France, the U.S., the Netherlands and the U.K. CBS News reported five people were killed and 11 injured in March when an aid package's parachute failed to deploy.
Penzel alleged that Hamas "steals the equipment" meant to go to the people of Gaza. Israel "takes care of its enemies people while being in jeopardy itself," he said, conceding that "the international community doesn't see it that way."
[Editor's note: This is the third of three articles stemming from reporter John Ferrannini's recent trip to Israel.]
Never miss a story! Keep up to date on the latest news, arts, politics, entertainment, and nightlife.
Sign up for the Bay Area Reporter's free weekday email newsletter. You'll receive our newsletters and special offers from our community partners.
Support California's largest LGBTQ newsroom. Your one-time, monthly, or annual contribution advocates for LGBTQ communities. Amplify a trusted voice providing news, information, and cultural coverage to all members of our community, regardless of their ability to pay -- Donate today!