The night before the October 7 Hamas attack, Adele Raemer says life felt almost perfect.
Living in Kibbutz Nirim, just a mile from the Gaza border, she described her community as “95% heaven.” Families gathered, visitors filled the kibbutz, and people celebrated the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah together. It was a joyful evening. Peaceful. Ordinary.
The next morning, everything changed.
Raemer had planned to wake up before sunrise and photograph wildflowers in the fields. Exhaustion kept her in bed longer than expected. Looking back, she believes that decision saved her life.
Around 6:30 a.m., rockets began falling. At first, it seemed like another attack, something residents near the border had experienced before. But it quickly became clear that this was different.
As warnings spread through the community, families rushed into safe rooms designed to protect them from rockets. What many did not realize was that armed Hamas terrorists had already crossed into Israel and were moving house to house.
Soon, terrified messages flooded the kibbutz communication system.
“We hear them outside.”
“We hear shooting.”
“We hear them shouting.”
One family hid in a safe room with their 10-day-old baby while terrorists set their home on fire. Smoke poured into the room as desperate parents pleaded for help that could not reach them in time. Nearby, Raemer’s son-in-law protected his children after hearing intruders enter his home.
For hours, Raemer and her son remained hidden, uncertain whether they would survive.
When she finally emerged, she discovered terrorists had damaged parts of her home but, somehow, had not entered.
Today, Raemer says she still struggles to process what happened. The experience reminded her of stories she heard growing up about Jewish families hiding during the Holocaust.
She is now unable to return to her home and describes herself as a refugee in her own country.
Yet amid the trauma, her story is also a reminder of how quickly life can change, how precious every ordinary day truly is, and how courage often appears in the darkest moments.
No matter where we stand on politics, stories like these remind us that behind every headline are real people, real families, and real suffering.
Take a moment today to pray for those affected by violence, for comfort for grieving families, protection for the innocent, and peace where hatred has brought destruction.
Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is refuse to stop seeing the humanity behind the news.
