The sky and earth began to burn in the Negev desert, a few kilometers away from the Gaza Strip. It was 6 a.m. on the morning of October 7, 2023, when the rhythm of electronic music at the Tribe of Nova festival began to dissipate due to the explosion of bombs falling on the area.
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“What’s going on? Run, run.” These were the screams that nearly 3 thousand Israeli and foreign people who attended the event began to sing.
Amid the bombs and desert dust, it only took a few seconds for people to realize that this was a brutal attack by Hamas. “We are at war” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately reported the situation.
At the same time as the first missiles exploded, the Colombian couple Antonio Macías and Ivonne Rubio He called his relatives. His father told Julio: “Dad, dad, we are at war.”
Meanwhile, Antonio told his mother, Claudia, who could barely open her eyes, that they had thrown a bomb, that they would seek shelter and communicate when they were safe.
The surprise was so great that Claudia thought she saw her son calling her in a dream. When She woke up and watched the news, she realized that her son was in mortal danger.
Alex Macías, Antonio’s cousin, told EL TIEMPO about the difficult times the family went through in Tel Aviv, the capital of Israel, since that communication they knew absolutely nothing about him, and it was not until this Wednesday that devastating news was reported: the authorities of that country found Ivonne’s body among 260 bodies left behind by the attack at the music festival site.
‘This is not a dream, it’s reality’ Alex remembered what her aunt had told her about the moment her son called her that Saturday.
Born in that country, Antonio and Ivonne began their relationship about three years ago. He had a daughter and she had a son. The four met as a family and lived in Kfar Saba, where the young man owned a barber shop; He learned this trade as a child from his parents, who emigrated from there more than 30 years ago. Colombia with Israel. In fact, it was Claudia who taught him everything about business.
The couple asked Claudia to stay with the kids for their trip to the Tribe of Nova festival. Thus, the young people began their journey towards the Gaza border. It was their anniversary celebration and they loved electronic music.
It wasn’t just missiles falling during the attack. An armed raid was also carried out. While a search was carried out in the area where the visitors’ vehicles were parked, the images showed the remains of the vehicles trying to escape.
Antonio told his mother that they were trying to run to a shelter or a nearby city to join their friends. This was the last conversation. Subsequent videos showed dozens of young people being dragged and beaten to be kidnapped by Hamas militants.
It’s been five days since that attack and there are few clues as to what happened to Antonio. But frankly, hope seems lost.
In a phone conversation, Claudia told Alex: “Son, I don’t know if my son will appear alive or dead. What matters is what we do for them in life.”
Claudia’s words sound like Antonio’s resignation to his fate. He made this request clear in his prayers. “I can’t blame God for taking my son in the worst way: He gave him to me, he took him from me. My prayer to God is that they do not kidnap him and torture him. I don’t want him or Ivonne to go through this. I’m prepared for good and bad things”Alex talked about his aunt’s messages.
Although the expectations were not very good, an image appeared on the mobile phones of the family, which they held tightly to. A young man with long hair injured on a stretcher is seen being treated by a nurse. But it is impossible to verify that it is him.
The family’s fear is that Antonio will be kidnapped because he will be subjected to all kinds of abuse until he causes their death. ““They are not thinking of making a profit from the hostages, they are thinking of killing them without mercy.” Alex said.
Another hope of the family is what one of the couple’s friends who was with them during the attack can tell them. However, the young man remained silent because he was in a difficult situation. shock because of the suffering he suffered.
The family also grieves the loss of Ivonne, who was born in Bogotá. The young woman’s father sent a heartbreaking audio recording confirming her departure: “They killed my daughter.”
After death, Alex cannot even imagine the pain Antonio would feel if he was still alive.
“We don’t know if he had to flee after killing her. It is too strong. You don’t want to leave the person you love alone. “They were a great couple.” counted.
Five days have passed since the start of the war. More than 1,200 people died in Israel due to Hamas attacks. There are currently 950 dead and at least 5,000 injured on the Gaza side.
Antonio and Ivonne’s families still do not inform their children about everything that happened to their parents, as it is difficult for them to cope with such a painful situation with such young children.
Five days have passed since the Palestinian group Hamas carried out multiple attacks launched from Gaza on October 7.
with extensive bombings of more than 270 targets belonging to both Hamas and the group. Palestinian Islamic Jihad attacked the Israeli Strip.
In parallel, the Israeli Navy, Air Force and artillery units attacked Hamas naval targets, which, according to a military spokesman, were “used by Hamas to carry out terrorist attacks on Israeli assets.”
Also this Tuesday, the first attack on Israeli territory from Syria was recorded since the beginning of the conflict with Palestinian militias.
In five days, the war in Israel has left more than 1,200 dead and more than 3,000 wounded, while Israeli bombings in Gaza have already left 1,055 dead and at least 5,184 wounded.
These figures include at least 1,000 Palestinians killed in clashes with security forces in Israeli territory after infiltrating from the Strip, according to the latest Israeli estimates. Israeli army.
CRISTIAN ÁVILA JIMÉNEZ
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Source: Exame
