On May 16, more than 150 people came to Lewis and Clark High School to hear Gal Cohen-Solal tell how he and his family survived the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Inland Empire for Israel, working with Faces of October 7, brought Gal to Spokane so people could listen to a first-hand account of that bloody day. While his story was hard to hear, with people nationally and locally denying the atrocities of Oct. 7 occurred, it’s important to listen to accounts like Gal’s.
Gal told how he, his wife and three children hid for hours in the safe room of his house in Kibbutz Re’im as Hamas terrorists tried to shoot their way in. Gal said he was sure he would die that day and decided early that if Hamas tossed a grenade into the safe room, he would throw himself on it to save the lives of his wife and children.
Fortunately, Israeli soldiers were able to rescue Gal and his family, moving them to a more protected area in the kibbutz while the soldiers continued to battle Hamas. Finally, after about 30 hours, he and his family were able to leave their home.
Gal detailed the aftermath of the attack, explaining how the terrorists had planned to set up a command post in his community and had brought enough food, water and ammunition to stay for weeks. He also explained how Hamas had massacred attendees of the nearby Nova music festival as they drove by Re’im trying to escape. As he showed the aftermath of the attack, he showed photos of a burned apartment where Hamas had murdered several people before setting it on fire. He then showed the outside of an apartment where Hamas terrorists had spent hours raping women.
If you missed Gal’s talk, we will have a recording available on our website soon.
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