On October 7 at 6:29 am, the Nova Festival in Kibbutz Re’im was a scene of celebration, with Millet Ben Haim and her friends smiling and taking photos. However, the atmosphere quickly changed when air raid sirens went off and Hamas fighters stormed the festival site.
The attack resulted in devastation, with 364 festival visitors dead and 40 taken hostage. Millet, who was lucky to have survived, spoke about the life-changing experience in an interview with the German newspaper Bild. She mentioned that the party had been a normal weekend until the music stopped due to rockets filling the sky.
Millet and her friends tried to flee in their car but were met with terrorists shooting at people ahead of them. They attempted to go in another direction but were met with similar violence. Desperate to escape, they took off on foot through fields, praying for safety.
After hours of wandering and seeking refuge, they eventually hid in a bush with three other women, disguising themselves to avoid being found by terrorists. Their prayers were answered when Ramy Davidian, a civilian who had saved over a hundred lives that day, found and rescued them.
Now with her family, Millet is grateful to be safe but is struggling to cope with trauma and loss resulting from the attack. She feels like a different person, unable to connect with friends or family and overwhelmed by the magnitude of events that took place that day