Survivors Share Harrowing October 7th Messages Ahead of Third Anniversary

As the third anniversary of the October 7th massacre approaches, survivors and victims' families are sharing personal text messages and correspondence from that day. These messages, sent during the brutal attack, have become a poignant record of the terrifying moments experienced by many.

The initiative encourages the public to revisit their own phone records from October 7th and share any relevant communications, emphasizing a collective experience of the day's trauma and the subsequent "default" failures. "We call on each and every one of you, even if you were not directly harmed in the massacre, to go back to your correspondences from that cursed day," reads a public appeal. "Please also upload your correspondences from October 7th. We are all 7.10, we are all victims of the default, directly or indirectly."

Among those sharing is Shir Matias, whose parents, Shachar and Shlomi Matias, were murdered in Kibbutz Holit. She posted a message from their family WhatsApp group on that morning: "Father and Mother are dead." Vicky Cohen, mother of Nimrod Cohen, a survivor of captivity, shared her desperate attempts to reach the IDF after receiving images and videos of her son's abduction, posting: "Why isn't anyone getting back to us?"

Eyal Ashal, father of fallen observer Roni Ashal, shared his last exchange with his daughter, who had texted her mother that morning, "Mom I'm okay don't worry about me, I love you too." Einav Tsengauker, mother of Matan Tsengauker, who was taken hostage to Gaza, shared her son's final messages describing the unfolding terror: "They are speaking Arabic, they are right by the door. Everything here is shouting. I love you. Don't cry."

Noam Peri, daughter of Haim Peri, who was abducted and murdered in captivity, shared a message from her mother, Osnat, stating, "Terrorists broke into our home and took Haim with them."