Beyond any numbers, the video and photos of Israelis killed, wounded, and kidnapped in the unprecedented Hamas attacks have left Atlanta’s Jewish community with feelings of sorrow, revulsion, and bewilderment.
Prayers and laments have mixed with condemnation and (less publicly) calls for vengeance, along with shock that Israel’s security apparatus — human and technological — could have experienced a failure of such magnitude, resulting (as of mid-afternoon Monday) in estimates of more than 900 Israelis killed, more than 2,600 wounded, and possibly more than 100 kidnapped and driven into Gaza.
Family and friends attend the funeral of IDF soldier David Shila at Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem // Photo Credit: Noam Revkin Fenton/Times of Israel
The images of Israelis lying dead in the streets, in their homes, on kibbutzim (including 100 reported at Kibbutz Beeri), and at an outdoor concert in southern Israel (260 reported); videos with audio of the terrified pleas and tears of the kidnapped (many recorded by their captors), and the stories told by survivors and anguished families — these are the underpinning of the emotions expressed in conversations, emails, and on social media.
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As of mid-afternoon Monday, Hamas rocket fire from Gaza toward Israel (more than 3,000 thus far) continued and the Israeli government reported ongoing clashes with Hamas inside Israel. Israel’s air force reported making more than 1,150 air strikes on Gaza, and Hamas reported nearly 700 deaths within Gaza. Israel Defense Forces troops were massing for anticipated ground action in Gaza. The IDF also reported combat helicopter strikes and artillery fire in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah attempts to cross into northern Israel.
An Ashkelon resident and his son make their way to safety after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip by Palestinian terrorists hit a building in the southern…
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