Surviving October 7: Pinoys in Israel remember Hamas attack, one year on

Exactly one year after the surprise attack launched by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in several different areas in Israel, Filipino victims and survivors joined together to commemorate the loss and experiences that resulted from the harrowing incident.

In a speech during the event at Ascott Hotel in Bonifacio Global City on Monday, survivor Camille Jesalva recalled the terror she felt when she was face-to-face with Hamas militants while she was protecting her 95-year-old employer Nitza Hefetz.

She recalled asking her mother for a photo for her son as she thought that she was about to die.

“I’m going to die. Please send me [a picture of my son] for the last time… They sent me a video and picture of my son. I’m holding the door and it was so dark, and I kissed the picture. I put the phone on my side, and I removed my hand, because it [was] useless. I see the glow-in-the-dark rosary in the darkness and thought ‘God, take me. I’m yours,’” she recalled.

She noted how she heard someone speak Arabic outside and thought they were safe to leave, before quickly realizing that they were still Hamas militants.

That led to how they were discovered.

“I heard someone walking and [went] straight to the Mammad [security room]… Everything changed. I said, ‘Hi, sir. Please no. You want money. Take everything, but not us. Not our lives…’ I opened my wallet… I give my money in the hands of Hamas. I said, ‘take everything, but not our lives,’” she said.

“He threw everything… and then after that, the Hamas looked at me and Nitza, and I followed him outside the room. I’m holding the door and said, ‘Thank you so much, sir. I will close the door now,’” she added.

She recalled falling like a candle and hugging Nitza as soon as she closed the door, and waited until the Israeli troops were able to find them two and a half hours later.

Camille said she also felt terrified seeing the warzone while they were running to safety.

She shared that she was supposed to return home on October 6, a day before the attack, but decided to reschedule to spend the holiday with Nitza.

On October 8, a day after the attacks, she ultimately decided to stay with her charge.

Bringing the trauma home

Jovelle Castelvi, meanwhile, was contacted by the Philippine Embassy in Israel at around 6 p.m. on October 10 with news about her husband.

Paul Vincent Castelvi, a caregiver in Kibbutz Beeri, was believed to have died while protecting his two employers.

Jovelle said that she was in shock when she was told that her husband had been killed.

“I want[ed] to confirm. I told them na pupunta ako to confirm kung siya nga po yun. And then, I confirmed na yung asawa ko nga po yun. And yun po, wala na siya. I [was] 37 or 38 weeks pregnant at that time,” she shared.

(I want[ed] to confirm. I told them that I will go there to confirm if that was him. And then, I confirmed that it really was my husband. And there he was, he was gone. I [was] 37 or 38 weeks pregnant at that time.)

Jovelle gave birth to their son, Jhayzen, in Israel in November 2023. She returned to the Philippines a month later, with her baby in her arms and the remains of her husband in an urn.

“Hindi pa rin po ako makapaniwala na wala na yung asawa ko. Hindi niya po nakita yung anak namin,” she mourned.

(I still can’t believe that my husband is gone. He didn’t see our son.)

Jimmy Pacheco, who was taken hostage by the Hamas militants and released weeks later, said that the gravity of the incident had left him listless and sleepless.

“Every other day, may kumakausap sa akin na psychologist [at] therapist from Israel. Ang advice nila sa akin ay useless kung dadalo ka sa event. Sabi ko, pupunta na lang po ako, andiyan naman kayo,” he joked.

(Every other day, a psychologist [and] therapist from Israel talks to me. Their advice to me was that it would be useless to attend the event [for the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks]. I said, I’ll go anyway. They were here either way.)

He said that the trauma remains. “Nagka-late trauma po… One to two hours lang yung tulog ko sa gabi. Nag-decide yung isang doctor ko na bigyan ako ng sleeping pills. Sabi sa akin 50 milligrams lang yung bibigay, so nag-decide na akong 150 na yung ginawa ko, pero di pa rin nag-work eh,” he added.

(I had a late trauma… I only sleep one to two hours at night. One of my doctors decided to give me sleeping pills. They told me they’d give me 50 milligrams, so I decided to raise it to 150, but it still didn’t work.)

Jimmy said that he prayed for the safe release of the remaining hostages, especially his friends who helped him get through his own period of captivity.

“Since October 7 until lumabas ako, sila yung kasa-kasama ko sa loob ng tunnel… Dinadasal ko na maging okay na lahat ng situation nila, at makabalik na sila sa Israel,” he said.

(From October 7 until I got out, they were my colleagues inside the tunnel… I pray that their situations would get better, and that they would be able to return to Israel.)

Despite this, he said that he knew Hamas was demanding a much larger ratio for hostage exchanges, on top of other demands, which may result in several complications.

Jimmy was released by Hamas in the first batch of hostage exchanges with Israel on November 25, more than a month after the attack.

After the attacks

Camille and Jimmy would later return to Israel.

Camille said Nitza would be her last charge and her last employer in Israel.

“Yung promise ko [My promise] [to Nitza], I will never go back to Israel and I will not find anybody. You are the last… Kahit ngayon, on the spot uuwi ako kung mawala siya [Even now, I would return home on the spot if she dies],” she said.

Still based in the same area, Camille said that she and Nitza still hear and witness ongoing tensions in the region.

“Nung nakaraan lang, tumakbo nanaman kaming dalawa. Inaabot na po ang Jerusalem…  Lahat na po ng bansa, inaatake na ang Israel. Kung wala ang Iron Dome, patay ang Israel. Hindi na rin po safe [ang Jerusalem]. Ngayon, inaatake na,” she said.

(Just recently, the two of us had to run again. The war has already got to Jerusalem… All of the countries are now attacking Israel. If not for the Iron Dome, Israel would have been gone. [Jerusalem] isn’t safe anymore.)

She said that even in Jerusalem there are now shoot-outs and hand-to-hand attacks.

“Sabi ko last week, tingin ko aatake sila October 7 as anniversary. And, nakita ko nga kanina, umaatake sila ngayon… Nakakatakot po talaga. Nagpapasadiyos nalang talaga [pag umaatake sila]. Wala na talagang magagawa,” she said.

(I said last week that I think they would attack on October 7, the anniversary. And, as I saw earlier, they did attack today… I’m really scared. I just leave it to God [when they attack]. There’s really nothing you can do.)

“We don’t know what’s going on, pero para sa akin, tumigil na kasi wala naman mangyayaring maganda sa gyera,” she added.

(We don’t know what’s going on, but for me, they should stop because nothing good will happen in the war.)

Camille is scheduled to go back to Israel and Nitza on October 15.

Her 7-year-old son Noah, who had asked her not to go back, is now her motivation.

“Kakasabi niya lang sa akin na, ‘Kung mamamatay ka, mamamatay din ako.’ Doon ko nakuha na kailangan ko maging strong mentally para sa anak ko,” she said.

(He just told me that, ‘If you die, so will I.’ That was when I realized that I had to be mentally strong for my son.)

Camille’s story is now published in a book titled, “One Day in October,” which holds 40 different accounts of survivors of the October 7 Hamas attacks.

Jimmy, on the other hand, has since returned to the Philippines after a brief stint in Israel in February.

“Nagtrabaho lang ako ng eight months sa Israel… Mas lalong naging worse sa situation ngayon. Nakialam na yung Iran. Iniisip ko na baka mawalan na ko ng swerte sa buhay, kaya uuwi na ko sa Pilipinas,” he said.

(I worked for 8 months in Israel… The situation is worse now. Iran has gotten involved.. I was thinking that I might run out of luck, so I should go home to the Philippines.)

He has since settled down with a frozen food business in the Philippines, and has settled to spend time with his family.

“Nakakatulog naman na [ako]… Ako ang naghahatid sa mga anak ko papuntang school, tapos pupunta ako sa pwesto namin sa palengke,” he shared.

([I] can sleep now… I am the one dropping my children off to school, and then I head to our store in the public market.)

Jimmy advised Filipinos in warzones to take repatriation offers and to prioritize their safety.

“Wag muna yung pera, kasi iisa lang yung buhay natin,” he urged.

(Don’t prioritize money for now, because we only have one life.)

He also shared that it would be hard for a ceasefire, but Israel could finish it in one day if they wanted.

Jovelle, on the other hand, continues to mourn for her husband and the father that her 11-month-old son would never meet.

“Iba po yung plano naming mag-asawa, kasi marami kaming plano sa anak namin, sa buhay namin… Hanggang ngayon, di pa rin ako makapaniwala na wala na yung asawa ko,” she said.

(We had different plans together. We had so many plans for our son, and our lives… Up until now, I still can’t believe that my husband is gone.)

Jovelle is currently surrounded by her family and Paul’s family to care for Jhayzen, who will be turning one on November 3.

“Hirap pa rin po akong i-absorb yung pangyayari kasi 11 years po kami magkasama ng asawa ko… Ang hirap,” she continued.

(It’s still hard for me to absorb what happened because me and my husband were together for 11 years… It’s hard.)

She said that she keeps thinking about her husband every time she prays at night, but also believes that he would already know what her message to him would be.

“Alam naman niya na mahal na mahal namin siya. Lagi ko sinasabi sa kaniya bago ako matulog, ako na bahala sa anak namin. Kaya ko po ‘to. Kailangan ko. Kaya namin, para sa anak namin,” she said.

(He already knows that we love him so much. I always tell him before I go to sleep, I’ll take care of our son. I can do this. I have to. We can do this, for our son.)

The Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023 left behind 1,200 people dead by the Israeli government's count, including four Filipinos.

Exactly a year later on October 7, 2024, Israel continues its military assault on Gaza—despite international outcry and a ruling that its settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal—and has expanded its attack to Lebanon, which it invaded last week.

Philippine authorities have urged OFWs and other Filipinos in Lebanon to return to the Philippines for their safety. However, flights into and out of the country are also hard to arrange due to the situation.  — BM, GMA Integrated News