In October 2023, I wrote about the Hamas attack on Avi’s kibbutz, Alumim. Fifteen months later, the war was still going on. “That’s coming from Jabalia,” Avi said, referring to a city of 172,00 in the northern Gaza Strip. As we watched plumes of smoke rising, he told the story of the past fifteen months, and what life is like now.

October 18, 2023

At 6:15 a.m., Avi heard the rat-a-tat of machine gun fire. Residents of Southern Israel are accustomed to sirens warning them of incoming missiles, not gunshots. Something was terribly wrong. Shaking Shula awake, he grabbed their cellphones and ran to their secure room, bolting the door behind them. Their cellphones lit up with messages from other kibbutz members, on a group chat, confirming their fears. They were under attack by Hamas terrorists.