Hadas Nadav, a National Service volunteer and the coordinator of Bnei Akiva Sderot branch, relives the terrible Saturday of Simchat Torah and describes the sole purpose that was before her eyes: "Taking care of the participants."
At the outset of her remarks, she notes the significant responsibility placed on her shoulders: "We brought 100 members from the Susya Yeshiva to Sderot to celebrate the holiday. On the evening, it was very joyful, and there was a festive atmosphere. We walked the streets until four in the morning. The members of the branch decided to stay awake until the prayers. They were concerned that if they went to sleep, they might miss the prayers."
Hadas returned to her apartment, and within an hour, chaos erupted. She describes the well-known rules in Sderot: "The moment there is a red alert siren in Sderot, it is known to all the participants that youth movement activities are automatically canceled for 24 hours until they figure out what is happening. However, the friends who arrived to celebrate from the outside were not familiar with the protocol."
Hadas and Ayelet, another National Service volunteer, coordinator of the members of Group B at the branch, focused on one thing: the participants. "We had no way to communicate with them. We had 200 paticipants and another 100 guests, and we didn't even know if they were aware that there were terrorists because they stayed at the branch to pray."
"We saw everything that was happening, our balcony overlooks Gaza"
The two of them wanted to go out to the participants to explain that they shouldn't go to the branch for the prayer service since everything had been canceled. However, when they started coming down, their neighbor told them to go back inside quickly because there were terrorists. "We didn't believe her, but we returned to the apartment anyway." There, Hadas called the police to notify them about the guests. "The police station in the area was already captured by the terrorists. They didn't respond to me there. Everything was directed to the Judea and Samaria Police Department, and they didn't know what to do with us."
Hadas understood that the police couldn't help her at the moment, so she began to call municipal employees in Sderot. "Throughout the Sabbath, I took care of the children who were on the streets, making sure they were taken to a safer and better place."
In the meantime, the national service girls closed themselves up in their apartment. "We couldn't believe what was happening outside until we saw terrorist groups and police officers running with drawn guns. The battle was right beneath our house. We locked up the apartment; no one realized the extent of what was happening. There was a lot of shooting, and we saw helicopters bombing Gaza. Our balcony overlooks Gaza."
"In our mourning we have to continue, this is our mission now"
At the end of her words, she sadly mentions that on Saturday night, they discovered that the branch had five casualties - parents and siblings of participants.
The National Service girls left their apartment safely on the following day at 14:00. "We didn't leave until we made sure that the last of the participants and guests were in a safe place," they said.
Hadas and Ayelet continue to maintain constant contact with the branch's participants and families. "We're in continuous contact with all the participants and families scattered all over the country in hotels. This is our mission, and we must not abandon them no matter what happens," they said.
In the coming days, they will travel to the evacuation center in Eilat, where they will reunite with the affected community and attempt to reestablish the branch's routine, away from home. "Amid the mourning, we need to continue with a certain routine; this is the mission now," they said.