A year has passed since the beginning of horror and bloodshed in Israel. On October 7, 2023, the citizens of Israel experienced what is regarded as the worst event in Jewish and Israeli history since the Holocaust.

The night of October 6, 2023, was the eve of Simchat Torah, a high holiday in Jewish tradition marking of the end of the annual cycle of the Torah reading. Due to it being a holiday, many were traveling to visit their families across Israel. No one would have expected that the next day would permanently change their lives.

At 6:29 a.m. (Israeli Standard Time) the next day, sirens were sounded across Israel as missiles were fired toward civilian homes. For those living in southern Israel, it was not seen as something “out of the ordinary,” so families took shelter in their safe rooms, waiting for the attack to end so that they could continue their holiday celebrations. However, the reality was far more severe. Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel by taking down the fence and bombarding nearby IDF bases. They didn’t stop there. Homes were invaded, and women, children, elderly, and soldiers were brutally attacked, murdered, raped, burned, and taken hostage.

Those who have returned have shared their traumatic stories in countless ways. One testimony that truly captured the hearts of many was that of Yagil Yaakov, a 13-year-old boy from Kibbutz Nir Oz, who was captured on October 7 with his murdered father, Yair Yaakov, and brother, Or Yaakov.

“They came in, broke the window, the showcase, they took me out in my underwear with a knife to my neck, and from there to Gaza,” Yagil said.

The pain he must have felt consumed him as he was driven through the kibbutz, witnessing the murder of many. In captivity, he was completely isolated from the rest of the hostages. Each day, the terrorists would tell him he would be going home the next day, but he was never taken back. On November 7, a video was made by the terrorists, forcing Yagil to say how well they had been taking care of the hostages, warning that if anything happened to them, it should be on the government’s conscience. Fifty two days after his capture, a ceasefire deal was reached, and he and his brother were released; however, his father’s body was not.

Another testimony was given by a child, Yael Yahalomi, a brave, 11-year-old girl from Kibbutz Nir Oz, who was able to escape captivity with her mother and younger sister. On this doomed day, she was separated from her brother Eitan and father Ohad, not knowing if she would ever see them again. During their attempted flight from Gaza, two unarmed terrorists found them and tried to convince the Yahalomis to come with them. “We got lucky with our story, we got the ‘soft’ terrorists,” said Batsheva Yahalomi, Yael’s mother, who bravely escaped with her two daughters. If she hadn’t stepped up and courageously saved her children, it could have been the last time she saw them.

These are just a few of the many stories of the returned hostages. However, there are many more accounts from children and individuals from other locations in Israel, including those from the Nova Massacre, the attacks on various cities, and the assaults on IDF bases. They had to endure unimaginable torture and witness undescribable violence towards their communities, families, and friends. Over a year into the war, 101 Israeli civilians are still waiting for rescue, including two innocent children, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, as well as Edan Alexander, a Tenafly alumnus and lone soldier in the IDF.

I wish, along with many others, for the hostages to be brought home soon because we cannot go through another year without them. Bring them home now!