Testimony Excerpt
From Danny Garkovitch's testimony: " I performed the tearing mourning ritual in my heart a long time ago."
The Full Testimony
Testimony of
Danny Garkovitch
Danny Garkovich, a member of Kissufim, was the commander of the Fire and Rescue Services volunteer units in the Gaza Envelope area. Even after the evacuation, he continued to manage a logistical network to assist evacuees. On that Saturday, he was at home with his wife, Cecilia. His only daughter and her husband lived next door to them. At the beginning of the event, his daughter started asking for help, informing him that the terrorists had broken into their house, were trying to breach the safe room, and the house was on fire. Danny saw terrorists outside his home and knew he could not leave. The electricity and communications were cut off, and Danny and Cecilia were rescued after about a day. His daughter and son-in-law were not found, but from the evidence, Danny understood that they had been murdered. Their bodies were completely burned, and for a month, they were considered kidnapped. They were buried together, embracing, just as they were found.
Danny said his late daughter Dafna was a responsible woman who always completed her tasks. She was the head of a quality control lab at a factory in the area. His late son-in-law, Iván Illarmendi, was born in Spain, was quiet and friendly, loved to cook, and worked as a food logistics manager in Be’eri. Danny shared that they lived in harmony and had planned to have children.
Place of the event:
Kissufim
Name:
Danny Garkovitch
Organization:
Fire Department
Language:
Hebrew
Credit:
Date: 24.11.2023
Interview: Anat Tzom Ayalon
Photography: Neta Dekel
Video Editing: Anat Tzom Ayalon
Content Editing: Sarit Borenshtein
Translation: Karen Ettinger
Other media
Channa Perri
Channa, age 71, was abducted from her home in Nirim early that morning, along with her son Nadav, both were in a medically complex condition.
Tamar Metzger
Tamar was in the shower on Shabat morning when she heard voices in the living room and Yoram, her husband, responding in Arabic. The bathroom door was yanked open, and she was grabbed and then dragged out from her house.
Eyal Dvori
Eyal Dvori, a member of Kibbutz Be'eri, headed the 12th grade cohort at Nofey HaBsor High School. On October 7, he and his family were abroad, following the events from afar, in horror and helplessness. A student from the cohort was murdered, and a teacher was kidnapped.
Maor Ben Yair
A group of friends went to Nova Festival to celebrate Maor's birthday. They had an extraordinarily fun time. At the 6:20, with the sunrise, there was a Red Alert.
Deborah Mintz
“Another couple of hours we would have been dead anyways”- Deborah Mintz on 7.10 in Nirim
Tamar Livyatan
From Tamar Livyatan's testimony: "I have a daughter and granddaughter here, and I am not leaving without them."
Judith Bdolach
From Judith Bdolach's testimony: "What should have been a calm and quiet work-out, turned into a nightmare"
