The past year has felt like one long, bloody day for Or Gat.
Hamas invaded his Kibbutz Be’eri home one year ago on Oct. 7 and murdered his mother and abducted his sister and sister-in-law.
“I’m still living in that day. Oct. 7 is still happening. Until everyone comes back we are still in Oct. 7,” Or told The Post.
“It really sucks, I really believed my sister would come back.”
Or’s mother Kinneret was executed in the attack, and his sister Carmel was found dead last month — one of six Israeli hostages killed by Hamas in cold blood in the tunnels of Rafah in August as IDF troops were closing in on them.
Carmel, 40, had been visiting the rest of the family at Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7 when Hamas terrorists began their deadly rampage.
The heartless killers went door-to-door — killing, raping and abducting anyone they encountered.
His mom, Kinneret, 67, a former teacher and tour guide, saw the marauders approaching and managed to warn her 70-year-old husband Eshel with precious few moments to spare — saving his life.
Kinneret could be seen staring down a terrorist and sticking her tongue out at him in a daring act of defiance in a newly released video from that day.
An hour later, Hamas thugs executed Kinneret in the street, along with five others.
“The closest people I had in the world were murdered, one on October 7 and one now.” said Or, who was away from the Kibbutz at a friend’s bachelor party at the time.
He called his mother the “glue” of the family.
“We were the only thing more important to her than the land of Israel. She knew every stone in our country,” he said.
Terrorists, meanwhile, packed Carmel, a yoga teacher and occupational therapist, into a car with two teenagers Noam, 17, and Alma, 13, and drove them into Gaza, where they were held prisoner together for 50 days in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
As they drove into Gaza, the car passed her mother’s corpse on the street, Or said.
At first, Or had no idea if Carmel was alive or dead.
The IDF didn’t confirm she was a hostage until two weeks later. Meanwhile, he found out his mother had been murdered after finding a video of her execution that Hamas posted to Telegram.
Carmel knew that her brother Or was OK, and she knew her mother had been murdered, but she went to her grave not knowing what became of the rest of her family, Or said.
Carmel’s brother Alon, 38, sister-in-law Yarden Roman, 35, and niece Geffen, then 3 years old, were abducted as well. However, when the terrorists driving them into Gaza encountered an IDF tank the trio jumped out of the vehicle and fled for their lives.
As terrorists pursued them on foot, Yarden handed Geffen to her much-faster husband and told him to run ahead of her, in a stunning act of maternal self-sacrifice.
“It was a no-brainer, it was her best chances,” Yarden told 60 Minutes in January.
Yarden was later captured and taken into Gaza, while Alon and Geffen hid in a ditch for 9 hours until it was safe for them to emerge. Yarden was later freed in the November deal.
In Gaza, Carmel took care of Alma and Noam and helped them keep hold of their sanity — teaching them yoga and meditation while they were under armed guard, the younger hostages revealed after they were freed.
“She taught them survival… she told them if [their captors] give you food, eat it… because you don’t know when there will be a next time,” Or said.
“She’s a caretaker in her soul,” the bereaved brother said, “Everyone made a pilgrimage to see her… she touched everyone she met.”
After Noam and Alma were released, Carmel was transferred to Rafah and held with five other hostages, among them American Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
On Saturday August 31, Or read on Telegram that Carmel’s body had been recovered in Raffah along with five other hostages. Hours later the IDF confirmed this information was accurate.
“The worst is happening in even the smallest details,” Or told the Post.
Or says his sister’s death, though devastating, is providing a degree of certainty that’s allowing him and his family to begin healing.
“We are starting to feel the sadness. For a while, it was only anger.”
Geffen recently celebrated her fourth birthday and is “more than fine,” according to her doting uncle.
“To see Geffen and Yarden playing together is pure joy. This is the largest point of light I can see at this time.”
