The Israeli military, however, was in no mood for bargaining. Porat escaped only because one of the Hamas fighters vacated the house early on, using her as a human shield, before giving himself up.
Porat describes Israeli soldiers engaging in a four-hour firefight with the Hamas gunmen, despite the presence of Israeli civilians. But not all of the hostages were killed in the crossfire. Israel ended the clash with an Israeli tank firing two shells into the house.
In Porat's account, when she asked why this had been done, "they explained to me that it was to break the walls, in order to help purify the house".
The only other survivor, Hadas Dagan, who was lying face down on the lawn in front of the house during the firefight, reported to Porat what happened after the two shells hit the house. Dagan saw both of their partners lying near her, killed by shrapnel from the explosions.
Survivor of Kibbutz Be'eri incident reveals harrowing details of Israeli forces' assault
Hadas Dagan, the only survivor of the Kibbutz Be'eri incident on 7 October, has broken her silence, recounting the horrific events. During the Israeli forces' arrival, a fierce exchange of gunfire ensued, followed by missile strikes. Amidst this chaos, Dagan recalls the children's desperate screams for help. Her testimony brings to light the targeted assault on civilians by the Israeli army, including her partner Adi, who was killed in the attack. Dagan vividly describes the terrifying moments,
A 12-year-old girl, Liel Hatsroni, who had been screaming inside the house throughout the firefight, also fell silent.
Hatsroni and her aunt, Ayalan, were both incinerated. It took weeks to identify their bodies.[5]
Confused pilots
Porat's testimony is far from the only source showing that Israel is likely to have been responsible for a significant proportion of the civilian deaths that day - and for the burned bodies.
The security coordinator at Be'eri, Tuval Escapa, effectively confirmed Porat's account to the Haaretz newspaper. He said: "Commanders in the field made difficult decisions - including shelling houses on their occupants in order to eliminate the terrorists along with the hostages."
The burnt-out cars at the Nova festival and their occupants appear to have suffered a similar fate. Worried that Hamas gunmen were fleeing the area with hostages in cars, it seems, helicopter pilots were told to open fire, incinerating the cars and all the occupants.
The Ynet news website cited an Israeli air force assessment of its two dozen attack helicopters in the skies above the Nova festival: "It was very difficult to distinguish between terrorists and [Israeli] soldiers or civilians." Nonetheless, pilots were instructed "to shoot at everything they see in the area of the fence" with Gaza.
Pilots emptied the 'belly of the helicopter' in minutes, flew to re-arm and returned to the air, again and again.
Challenge to official story
Although they are rarely given a voice, Palestinians have their own, alternative narrative of what happened that day - and parts of it are being bolstered by accounts from Israeli sources.
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