LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Arnold Schwarzenegger has spoken on the importance of shedding light on the horrifying survivor accounts from Hamas militants' deadly October 7 attack on Israel. The 'Terminator' star opened the doors of his Los Angeles office to survivors and family members of Israeli hostages taken during the October attack in an event organized by the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem.
“It’s extremely important that the world hears those stories,” the 76-year-old told People, adding “We hope that will make this hatred slowly disappear. Because a huge amount of damage is done through hatred, a huge amount of lives are lost.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger has never dealt with such a situation before
"I have never dealt with anything like this before," Schwarzenegger admitted during the event, adding "I always want to be there for the Jewish people, and for Israel." Stating he's "been on this campaign for a long time to fight hate," the former California governor noted, "when something like this happens, I feel personally that we have to speak out."
Israeli teen Ella Shani disclosed the ordeal she's been through
During the event, Israeli teen Ella Shani, 14, spoke of waking up in her home in kibbutz Be'eri and running from militants while still wearing her pajamas. The girl later learned about the tragic death of her father just after a few days. Her 16-year-old cousin, Amit Shani, was held hostage in Gaza until November 29.
“On October 7th, I woke up to the sounds of "Allahu Akbar," sounds of gunshots and explosions,” the teen says at Schwarzenegger's crowded conference table. Shani then explained that she logged onto a WhatsApp group shared by a hundred local teenagers while hiding inside her home's bomb shelter with her mother and younger brother.
“Usually we use this group chat to discuss stupid things, like when is the food coming or when's the bus coming out and 'I'm late.' But that day was different," she said, adding "On October 7th, the messages we received in that group chat were nothing but kids begging for help, begging for their lives.”
Hamas cut electricity of Ella Shani's home
Shani added that Hamas cut the electricity of her home and recalled sitting in the dark reading texts from her uncle saying his house was on fire. After hiding for several hours, the Israeli Defense Forces finally knocked on their door at 5.30 pm and placed them in a safe room of a nearby house with seven children and three adults.
Just half an hour later, the IDF told the group to prepare the children for what they were about to see. In the living room, the floor “was covered with blood and there were body parts scattered around," said Shani, adding "I remember having a hard time realizing what I'm looking at, but as soon as I realized, my first instinct was covering my little brother's eyes."
Then Hamas attacked again, she said. “And it's like in the movies when you see the bullets hitting the wall right behind you and you hear them whistling next to your ear," she continued.
Surrounded by the IDF unit, the group "started running towards the kibbutz's exit. We run wearing nothing but our pajamas. I was very lucky to have my phone. Kids with us were running with nothing but blankets," Shani explained.
As they fled, “everything was on fire," she said. "Houses of my friends. Remembering the texts from before, them saying, 'I'm in a room with the bodies of my parents and the house is on fire. Somebody help me.' And I'm seeing the house, knowing they're still in there," she added.
Exploded cars lay along the roads and Shani said bodies lay, “killed in unimaginable horrific ways. Every Israeli I've seen had their limbs or other body parts lopsided or missing, cut off. Some of them were burned.” Finally, making their way towards a bus that would take them to Tel Aviv, with windows shattered by bullets, Shani allowed herself to cry.
“An eight-year-old boy, a friend of my little brother, came to us wearing nothing but his boxers and shirt and blood all over his face and his glasses were missing. And he told my brother, 'They killed my father and (10-month-old) sister and shot my mother.' That's when we find ourselves with an eight-year-old boy and a three-year-old boy covered with their parents' blood going on the bus. And that's honestly what broke me, realizing that actually happened and kids actually became orphans."
When did Ella Shani get to know about her father's death?
Both of Shani's grandparents had been shot inside the kibbutz, but fortunately she survived. Her cousin Amit was taken hostage which she found out later while another devastating update was yet to come.
“Five days after everything that happened, I remember hearing my mother crying in the bathroom. I remember just asking, who is it now? And she looked at me without saying anything and I realized it was about my dad.” Shani buried her father Itzik Kozin a day later. “That's why I also couldn't give him any final words or goodbye because I couldn't process anything yet," she said.
The teen explained that she hopes her truth will be recognized by the world. “Many people say these things didn’t happen. I'm here telling you loud and clear: People were beheaded, people were burned alive. People's body parts were cut off, women were raped, children were kidnapped. All of that happened. I have names of my friends who had to go through these terrible things," she further revealed.
