By Dr Sheree Trotter on Plainsight.nz…

A year ago, the brutal and unprovoked attack by Hamas terrorists on peaceful communities in the south of Israel changed Israel forever. Israel had for years warded off rockets attacks from Gaza, but to have thousands of gunmen penetrate the security barriers and enter the private spaces of civilians, to murder, maim, rape and kidnap was a new phenomenon.

We watched in horror and disbelief as videos appeared on our newsfeeds of terrorists entering homes and gunning down people. We were stunned by the glee and exhilaration of the terrorists, as they phoned home their successes. By the end of the killing spree, 1200 were dead, including 260 concert goers and thousands injured. In the ensuing days and weeks we would learn of the depth of the barbarity – the rape, beheadings, burning of families, mutilation of bodies, a sheer orgy of depravity.

One of the images seared into my brain was that of a young woman, slung on the back of a pick-up truck, limbs distorted, seemingly lifeless. We saw the footage of her being paraded through the streets of Gaza like a trophy, crowds clamoring to catch sight of her.

Shani Louk, a 22-year-old Israeli-German turned out to be a family member of a dear friend here in New Zealand, and suddenly her plight and the plight of 251 other individuals taken hostage that day – including babies, the disabled, a Holocaust survivor – became personal.

Read the full article on Plainsight.nz here.