Survivor of October 7 attack shares first-hand account with Columbus Jewish community
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- It's been more than four months since Hamas terrorists launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, sparking a fierce war in the Middle East since.
Since then, tens of thousands of lives have been lost in the war, and one man says Hamas terrorists broke into his home and shot out his family's windows and doors, but he lived to tell his tale. Now, he's using his family's story of survival to ensure that day is never forgotten.
"To be afraid for your kids' life and your wife, it's a whole new level of fearing," said Gal Cohen-Solal, a survivor of the attacks in Israel on Oct. 7. This was a level of fear Cohen-Solal has never felt despite being under fire during his time in the Israeli army.
"We start to hear all the rockets came towards us from Gaza," Cohen-Solal said. "It wasn't something normal. We were not used to it, it was a very heavy attack."
Cohen-Solal and his family were at their home in Kibbutz Re'im -- just three miles from the Gaza border -- when they came under attack on the morning of Oct. 7, which coincided with the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret.
After moving his wife and three kids into a safe room, they then started receiving messages about the scope of the attack.
"In our 'WhatsApp' group, I started to see messages that there is a terrorist attack," Cohen-Solal said. "They wrote...that one of my mates, one of my friends, had been murdered."
Not knowing how long the attack would last, Cohen-Solal says he didn't even want to respond to messages about his safety.
"I was too scared to say that 'I'm okay,' and then in 10 or 15 minutes, I'd be dead," he said.
Instead, he spent nearly the entire time in the safe room clutching at the handle from the inside to protect his family.
"They thought I protected them. I know I'm very useless and there's nothing I can do," Cohen-Solal said, admitting to feeling helpless in those moments.
With no bathroom, water or food, Cohen-Solal and his family were stuck inside the safe room for more than 30 hours.
"I just waited pretty much that they will come and murder me, my wife and my kids inside our house", Cohen-Solal said. "I thought maybe, if the terrorists enter my house, I will go out so they will kill me and they will leave my family aside."
Captivated community members listened to Cohen-Solal's story Tuesday morning at the Jewish Community Center in Columbus. Organizers say his first-hand account is critically important for those unable to witness the atrocities of Oct. 7.
"At Jewish Columbus, and for the Columbus Jewish community, we feel it's so important to have a connection with our Israeli brethren," Julie Tilison Stanley, the President and interim CEO of Jewish Columbus, said. "When we come together for programs like this, and hearing people's stories, we know we have each other."
Antisemitic incidents have increased by 300 percent since the attacks, and locally, Tilison Stanley says they've taken extra steps to make their community feel safe.
"We have a huge volunteer network to help us feel safe and secure," she said. "We also provide security and special-duty officers to every Jewish agency...and we really feel that a strong Columbus, is a strong Jewish Columbus, and vice-versa."
And though Cohen-Solal feels lucky to be alive to share his story, he says he won't feel safe back home until the war is over.
"I care about my family at this time. All my emotion goes to my family," Cohen-Solal said. "I will not feel safe anywhere at the moment. With people, with terrorists trying to enter your house, you will not feel safe, you will always be afraid."
Since Oct. 7, more than $23 million has been raised locally for Israeli humanitarian aid. For more information on the fundraising effort, you can go to Jewish Columbus' website.