Natalie Sanandaji, a survivor of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, shares her story at the Algemeiner’s J100 Gala, New York City, Oct. 25, 2023. Photo: Screenshot

Survivors of Hamas’ pogrom in southern Israel on Oct. 7 recalled their dark experiences on Wednesday, adding new first-hand testimony to the troubling record of what happened in the deadliest single-day attack on Jews since the Holocaust.

“I always found great joy in attending music festivals, dancing with friends and loved ones. All that changed on Oct. 7, the day I had to run for my life — the day that Hamas, a terrorist organization, shot at me and my friends as we escaped for our very existence,” said Natalie Sanandaji, who attended the music festival in Israel where Hamas terrorists massacred over 260 people.

Speaking at The Algemeiner‘s annual gala in New York City, Sanandaji recounted running for hours from the rockets and gunfire until a man in a pickup truck from the neighboring town rescued them.

“I somehow survived, but sadly so many others did not. As a survivor, I saw evil with my own eyes — pure antisemitism unleashed in the cruelest was possible,” she said.

Also at the gala, Moshe Lavi described the devastation of having loved ones terrorized by Hamas’ massacre.

Lavi described his sister, her husband, and their two young children living a wonderful life in southern Israel, about two miles from Gaza. “But all that shattered” on Oct. 7, he added.

“They were held captive in their house, later grouped with other families for four hours as residents were tortured and abused,” she said, describing how they witnessed “firsthand evil ravaging their kibbutz, burning homes with people in then, execute people including a teenage girl who was lying next to them dead, committing the most heinous crimes that one can imagine.”

While Lavi’s sister and her children survived, Hamas kidnapped his brother-in-law as one of the more than 200 hostages that the terror group took from Israel to Gaza.

“I’m their voice, but also the voice of thousands of Israelis who are currently missing their loved ones who are held hostage in the Gaza Strip by Hamas and their accomplices, who are waiting for them to come home,” he said.

Lavi added that he hoped not just the Jewish community but also the “entire peace-loving, life-affirming world will stand with us in our darkest hour” and to fight “to free our loved ones from their captivity.”