Israel stands strong three years on: National pain, trauma and resilience after Oct. 7 - opinion

It is Friday, October 9; Shabbat is around the corner after a very painful week with the Jewish holiday of Simchat Tora - the day the massacre happened according to the Jewish calendar. Monday was the national Memorial Day declared by the government, and then the actual date of October 7.

All week, I have been feeling the enormous burden, sorrow, despair, and unimaginable trauma coming up to the surface, something that takes a great toll on me, and I could not control it because I'm also dealing with issues of renewing both my visa and my insurance, while I am also trying to locate a new long-term apartment, which is much needed.

While all these practical matters are happening, my soul cries out from my painful memories of the October 7 onslaught, genocide, and war crimes against the Jewish Nation - so it's altogether pretty overwhelming, and I was thinking about making a video to share on October 7, but the tears would not stop running, so I was forced to give up on that idea.

It’s been three years since that horrific October 7, 2023, onslaught and massacre against Israel. We recall it as the darkest day since the Holocaust, and it's still difficult to talk about the unimaginable horrors of torture, mutilations, and decapitations of women, men, children, and babies, along with the grotesque rapes.

The sexual violence of October 7 cannot be erased. Rape was a weapon of Hamas; women and men were raped, sexually assaulted, and mutilated. The rapes were so violent that women’s pelvises were broken.

Neither will we forget Hamas and all of the terrorists that participated as accomplices in this October 7 bloodbath. Justice will never stop being measured out against them.

Gaza would ultimately be exposed as the biggest terror nest in the world, with tunnels everywhere - with tunnel shafts in basically every other house of their ”innocent civilians,” and almost all of the doctors, journalists, and UN workers found to be terrorists, and supposedly ”respectable people” in society proven to be just as evil and corrupt as the Hamas terrorists.

We were traumatized by knowing the precious hostages were going through horrific abuse daily, and starvation by terrorists and also by the “innocent civilians” in Gaza, and we refuse to forget the unspeakable horrors suffered by the hostages and their families.

I recall the horrific scenes in Gaza when our precious hostages were paraded through hundreds of terrorists in despicable “hostage release ceremonies,“ keeping the entire nation, including myself, in a state of unspeakable trauma.

I watched it live on television, reporting to the whole world; it was sickening and brutal, and tears of relief ran as I knew they were finally coming home.

As we celebrated the "release" of these innocent hostages, I also felt the desperation and anger of injustice chill my heart, with the Israeli government being compelled to release thousands of cold-blooded terrorists who had previously murdered hundreds of Israelis in horrific terror attacks.

It was angering me while watching them being released and welcomed back to their homes and families as heroes, while seeing our starved and tortured hostages come home made me throw up; I got physically sick every time.

We watched with indignation and disgust while the terrorists in Gaza held ceremonies with coffins of murdered hostages, which included the broken bodies of baby Kfir and Ariel, which devastated all of us so much, as the satanic evil of Hamas and Islamic Jihad was broadcast for the whole world to see.

As if that wasn’t enough for these terrorists, they deliberately chose to first return the body of an unknown woman and not the body of the mother of the two precious boys.

This week, on October 7, 2026, we honored all the civilian heroes in Israel, and our brave soldiers and police officers who fought like lions that day (and still do!).

We honored the countless sacrifices they paid in blood, along with the hundreds of soldiers killed defending the Jewish Homeland.

I look with compassion and concern for the thousands of soldiers who have lost one or more limbs in battle while defending Israel.

The Defense Ministry said about 30 thousand casualties have entered its Rehabilitation Department since 7 October, including 47% up to age 30, 8% women, and 62% reservists.

Of those treated, 37% have physical injuries and 63% face psychological reactions; the department expects to serve about 100,000 people by 2028, half of them with mental health issues.

970 soldiers have been killed in operational circumstances in the war since October 7, 2023.

70% of the soldiers who were injured in the war have returned to service.

We carry the scars on the outside and on the inside, while we fight back despair and sorrow by praying for the children in Israel who have been deeply traumatized!

But we were not allowed to breathe or recover - not even for one day -  because immediately on October 8, 2023, Hezbollah started firing thousands of rockets into Israel.

Following this, came attacks from the Houthis in Yemen, and then ballistic missile and drone attacks from Iran. It took us all far beyond the typical threshold of trauma.

The vicious missile campaign brought over 31,000 launches towards the State of Israel:

Approximately 10,200 from the Gaza Strip.

Approximately 20,000 from Lebanon.

Approximately 1,200 from Iran.

Approximately 50 from Syria.

The psychological battery of constant Red Alerts on your phone, the endless wailing of sirens that are warning you of incoming missiles, drones, and rockets kept me awake through many sleepless nights.

Added to this was the sense of terror of being in the supermarket, then needing to go running for cover, or walking in the streets, running for the nearest bomb shelter, but most of the time I did not seek shelter; I was filming with ballistic missiles being intercepted over my head for the world to see.

The disruption to our daily lives also took a huge toll, as schools and shops closed, the borders were closed, and the entire nation was deeply impacted, especially our precious children.

Some statistics about the children affected by October 7:

Clalit Health Services reported a 121% rise in psychiatric emergency visits by children and adolescents, a 47.8% increase in bedwetting medication prescriptions among evacuated southern children, and a 60% increase in new high-cholesterol diagnoses among northern evacuees.

The report examined around five million members from October 2023 through September 2026, and found that some health effects had not eased after three years.

We pray for all of the bereaved families who are missing loved ones, or two, or more! Also, let us not forget that whole families were murdered on October 7.

I reported nonstop and made thousands of live broadcasts and video updates starting on October 7, until one day, I lost my voice from speaking without a break, and in addition, the trauma was so overwhelming that I couldn’t speak without having to throw up - I had to stop doing live broadcasts for that reason.

Trauma occupied my body like a big beast that lay slumbering in my stomach. It affected every nerve, every muscle, and every cell of my body, and it impacted me spiritually, emotionally, and especially mentally, just like all this horror did for everyone else in Israel.

How many of us endured endless sleepless nights? And still to this day, I don't sleep as I did prior to October 7.

What has been absolutely disgusting and horrific to watch is how people around the world have been responding to all of this horror.

As I am writing this today, nations, governments, and individuals are showing their support for Hamas. We can see how the biggest onslaught of Jews since the Nazi Holocaust started a tsunami of hatred towards Israel and the Jewish people.

This undeserved hatred is partly based on the false narrative being broadcast by mainstream media, often being the complicit mouthpieces for Hamas.

We should not forget that these terrorists live-streamed their actions for the world to see the atrocities and war crimes they committed on that day, which was the biggest massacre ever seen and broadcast to the world in real time, and yet the world turned its back against Israel, even with the horrific images shown in videos of rapes, decapitation, mutilation, and burning people.

The world has lost its moral compass when it comes to the Jewish people; nothing was done to save the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, and look where we are today. The voices of those protesters shouting their wicked words echo from history to this very moment!

And yet Israel stands strong and resolute, despite being traumatized on all levels and against all odds!

It’s deeply moving to experience how people in Israel are drawing near to God after the October 7 massacre!

The Jewish people are resilient as they rebuild their lives, with the invisible brick and mortar of hope and dreams. They can do so because this is their Nation, and He who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps!

On October 7 and every day, we honor and remember every single person brutally murdered, and we embrace and cherish the thousands of wounded people in Israel!

On top of all of this, on a personal level, while going through all of this, I also had three minor surgeries, and I had an accident where I sliced open my hand. The injury required me to have five stitches done.

The past three years have not been easy.

Despite all this, I continue to stand firm and share news, truth, and views, reaching millions of people worldwide, and I refuse to flee the country or be evacuated; my place is in Israel, reaching the world with the truth and news!

With all the relentless lies and propaganda coming against Israel, there is always so much more for me to do in taking a stand against this evil onslaught.

There is a deep love and heart for the Jewish people that continues to run in my family:

My grandfather's sister saved the lives of several Jews during the Holocaust by hiding them on their farm in Denmark. That same love in my heart doesn't let me stay silent.

An additional stress I’ve endured over these past three years since this massacre, and during wars and surgeries, is that I had to pack up and move several times, find new apartments, and leave bad apartment situations and bad landlords.

Now I’m looking for a long-term, fully furnished apartment for November 1, and I’m looking to rent for one year so I can keep reporting out of Israel in this critical hour!

I need a long-term apartment where I can be grounded and settled, with a solid foundation and a home filled with peace and tranquility, so I can keep doing the work I am destined to do!

Plants in nature can’t produce fruit or flowers if they are continually being uprooted and transplanted. They have to be rooted in the right place to produce, and the same goes for me.

In moving forward, I would be honored to continue sharing my heart, news, and views in reaching the world at this critical time, and I refuse to allow my voice or that of the Jewish people to be drowned in a sea of deception and false blame.