October 7, 2023 embodies the greatest massacre of the 21st century. It is the most dramatic event in Israel's history since its creation, and the deadliest event for Jews worldwide since the Holocaust.
Until that day, Israelis had unshakeable faith in their army, Tsahal, and its intelligence services. So it was with disbelief, then dismay, that Israelis discovered the live images of Hamas's incursion into Israeli territory. The awakening was horrifying. For the first time in 50 years, since the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, people feared for the country's survival.
Very quickly, the immensity of the massacre began to take shape. From the very first days, Sophie Chemla, a Franco-Israeli, visited the various sites of the massacre. From Nova, to Kibbutz Be'eri, via Abu Kabir, the forensic institute south of Tel Aviv, she describes the morbid discoveries, the mutilations, the torture, the rapes... the absolute horror! Day by day, she recounts the awakening and how October 7, 2023 profoundly and forever transformed the minds and souls of Israelis.