In the pre-dawn hours of October 7, 2023, as Hamas militants breached Israel's borders, photojournalist Ziv Koren grabbed his camera and drove into the heart of chaos. What followed was a day that would forever change Israel—and Koren himself.
"I didn't really [take photos of] a lot of people who were alive," Koren told CNN's Wolf Blitzer, his voice heavy with the weight of memory. "Most of what I photographed were dead Israelis."
In a single day, Koren captured a staggering quarter of a million images—each a pixel in the mosaic of horror that unfolded across southern Israel. From the bullet-riddled roads near Sderot to the blood-soaked grounds of the Nova music festival, Koren's lens became a witness to history.
As reported by JPost, October 7 was just the beginning for Koren. In the months since, he has continued his relentless documentation, amassing an archive of 350,000 photographs that chronicle not just the initial attack, but the ongoing war and its rippling effects on Israeli society.
Now, a selection of these images will be displayed at the Shimon Peres Center for Peace and Innovation in Jaffa. The exhibit, opening this week, aims to provide firsthand testimony from the kibbutzim, battlefields, and the ongoing struggle of hostages' families.
One particularly poignant series follows a couple Koren met at the Nova festival. Caught in a shelter targeted by Hamas grenades, they each lost a leg—but found resilience. "Since then, I've been covering their rehabilitation, and they got married last week," Koren shared, offering a glimmer of hope amidst the darkness.
This sense of responsibility extends to the proceeds from his work. A portion will be donated to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, supporting those still grappling with the aftermath of October 7.
As Israel approaches the one-year mark of the attack, Koren's photographs are a call to remember, to bear witness, and perhaps, in some small way, to heal.
