The Bilya Family on October 7 | Kan 7.10.360

The Bilya family wakes to relentless rocket sirens. On the morning of Simchat Torah, grandmother Michal is hosting her son, Guy, his wife, also named Michal, and their four children: Ivriya (8), Hillel (6), Telem (3), and their one-month-old son, Asif. There is no safe room in the house; thus, the family takes cover beneath the staircase on the first floor

Ariel, Guy’s younger brother, lives two buildings away from their mother. He comes to her home to urge her to go to the public bomb shelter nearby, but she chooses to stay inside. Later, Ariel returns with his wife, Shoshana, and their two children—Avishag (7) and Zuriel (5)—who want to wait out the alarms with their cousins. Now, eleven family members huddle beneath the staircase, seeking shelter from the rockets. Grandma Michal lays out a mattress and hands out snacks to the children

During a brief lull in the rocket fire, the parents step out onto the balcony with the children. Within minutes, they hear strange noises coming from multiple directions and realize these are gunshots. A neighbor on the opposite balcony says a terrorist has likely infiltrated the area and that police forces are engaged in a firefight. As the minutes pass, the gunfire draws nearer. The family quickly rushes back inside. Ariel shuts all the windows and instructs all the family members to move upstairs to the second floor

From a second-floor window, the family spot a group of men dressed in IDF uniforms on the street. On the other side of the street, they spot a police officer—Roni Abuharon—running toward the group with his gun drawn. At this point, they have no idea the men in uniform are terrorists. Fearing a crossfire, Guy leans out the window and shouts, “Don’t shoot the policeman—he’s one of ours!” The terrorists open fire, killing the officer on the spot. The parents quickly shut the window and rush to the next room, where the children are sheltering with their grandmother

Three armed terrorists arrive at the Bilya family home. When they fail to enter through the front door, they smash the windows and break into the house. The entire family is gathered in a room on the second floor. The family members realize they have no chance of survival if they remain where they are

Michal finds an iron rod and hands it to her brother-in-law, Ariel, who stands at the entrance to the room, alert and ready to fight. Ariel instructs the family to escape through a small window that leads to the roof of the storage shed. One by one, they climb out while Ariel stands guard. His wife, Shoshana, goes first, than the kids - Telem (3) carried by his mom, Michal, and Asif (1 month) carried by her father, Guy. Grandmother Michal is the tenth to leave. One of the terrorists, positioned on the balcony below, aims his weapon at her, but the gun jams, and he fails to fire. Ariel, who waits until everyone is out, is the last to climb through the window. As he steps out, the terrorist clears the jam and shoots him. He is killed instantly

Shoshana, the first to climb out the window, turns right onto the neighbors’ roof, where solar water heaters provide cover. The rest of the family follows. At this point, they don't know what happens with Ariel. Beneath the dense cluster of solar heaters, they remain for three hours, listening to screams from the street, relentless gunfire, and grenade blasts. Rocket fire and sirens continue without pause. At one point, they witnesses a direct rocket hit. The children stay silent the entire time

A massive explosion erupts on the first floor of the house, ligniting a fire. Wooden furnishings fuel the rapidly spreading flames. From their position on the roof, the family watches as black smoke rises from their home. At the same time, another of Michal’s sons, Tal Bilya, commands the emergency response unit in Kibbutz Sa’ad, working to stop terrorists from infiltrating the kibbutz and aiding dozens of wounded from the area

Gradually, the sounds of chaos give way to the noise of rescue teams evacuating the wounded and security forces battling the terrorists. The famuly hears several soldiers on the street discussing plans to fire at rooftops, some of which may be hiding terrorists. Guy decides to make eye contact with them to avoid being mistaken for a threat. Silently, he waves toward the soldiers using his kippah and their son Telem’s pacifier. The forces deploy a drone to the roof where the family is hiding to confirm they are civilians. Overhead, a police helicopter warns residents to stay inside, as terrorists are still in the area

One of the soldiers reaches the roof, finds the family, and calls down to the forces below, alerting them that civilians need to be rescued from the roof. Guy tells him that his brother, Ariel, is still inside the house. The soldier approaches the window through which the family escaped and discovers Ariel’s body. He calls Guy over to identify him

Forces climb onto the roof and evacuate the family across adjacent rooftops, as terrorists remain active below. The soldiers lead all ten family members into the home of neighbors Chen and Rotem Buchnik, where they stay for nearly 24 hours

A ZAKA truck arrives in Ofakim to remove bodies from the city, including Ariel’s. Only after the neighboring home of Rachel and David Edri is cleared of terrorists does the Bilya family step outside and witness the scale of the destruction in their community