When there’s too much information to process and absorb, it can be useful to focus on the experience of an individual and their surroundings.
Gilda’s cousin, Tzvia, emigrated to Israel after high school a little more than half a century ago. She and her husband Yossi raised four children on Kvuzat Yavne, a traditional Orthodox kibbutz about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Gaza. The kibbutz has a successful diversified economy, incorporating agriculture (pickled cucumbers and olives) and light manufacturing.
Tzvia’s youngest, Eldad and his family, lived on Kibbutz Sa’ad, a few kilometers from Gaza. Their Orthodox, agricultural kibbutz suffered relatively few casualties during the Hamas killing spree October 7 compared to other nearby settlements.
The family has been relocated but, as Tzvia related to Gilda in a series of emails, Eldad, a trained engineer, now “works in a factory that packages fresh produce near the southernmost part of Gaza. The farmers that still have crops, and volunteers to harvest them, are desperate to get anything out.
“Eldad is living at home on Sa’ad by permission. The whole area around Gaza is a military zone and only civilians that are working the farms and factories are allowed to stay over night. On Sa’ad, as well as all the other kibbutzim, they are trying to keep whatever they can running including the factories on Be’eri and Kfar Aza that weren’t destroyed.
“Those that can work and keep the lines working and milk the cows and plow the fields are there. It also helps to keep them sane. The families and the kids are evacuated.
“The situation is very hard. Our house (in Kvuzat Yavne) is constantly vibrating from the artillery in Gaza, and we’re about 30 miles away. Of course, we had and have rocket attacks in the area. Thankfully, almost all are around us and not specifically on us, but, of course, we hear the sirens, hear the strikes and see the Iron Dome shooting them out of the sky.
“In the last few days the rocket fire has diminished to one or two long range salvos a day. Unfortunately, the north is getting blasted from Lebanon.”
From another early December email from Tzvia: “Still at war. (Eldad’s family) still evacuated. Had their (son’s) bar mitzvah at the hotel where they are living.
“Eldad is back working near Egypt. He lives at home on Sa’ad during the week and goes back to his family on the weekends. This shabbat they were here. Everyone’s life is on hold…
“Yossi is basically OK except for his trouble walking. Unfortunately, he is watching much more of the news than I am. He’s out of the house every day working at what he can.
“As far as our kibbutz is doing, we have taken in as many refugee families as we can. We also had as many as 200 soldiers staying here while their units took a breather from the fighting.We have a lot of men mobilized including CEO’s of our businesses and our high school principal.”
Then, the dreaded, almost inevitable news of a fatality: “This morning we got the terrible news that the woman I work with and is a close friend, has lost her son.
“We get up every morning to the read the list of names of the soldiers that have fallen that day. Praying it’s not someone we know. So many families destroyed. We are a country in constant trauma.”
