“The unit usually rescues the living; this time we could only recover lifeless bodies.”

On Saturday, the day the war broke out, Warrant Officer Eli from the National Rescue Unit of the Home Front Command arrived at Kibbutz Be’eri. The massacre in Be’eri was one of the most devastating in the history of the State of Israel, if not the gravest, and Eli testifies to this from personal experience. Eli is a veteran reserves soldier, over 70 years old. Although recognized as a disabled veteran, he has continued to serve in the IDF reserves for 47 years. He fought in battles in the Yom Kippur War, engaged in military operations and rescue expeditions around the world. According to Eli, the sights he witnessed on October 7 were even worse than anything he encountered in all his years of military service. “The unit usually rescues the living. This time we could only recover lifeless bodies.”