'My biggest concern was my mother and my sister,' recalls survivor of Oct. 7 attack in interview with 'Voz News,' describing hours of terror endured during Hamas attack

Guido Cohen, a survivor of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel, recalled on Wednesday on "Voz News" the hours of terror he and his family endured while locked in the safe room of their home, trying to prevent Hamas terrorists from entering. For more than six hours, Cohen and his family held the shelter door shut while listening and waiting, not knowing if they would survive. "Truly, having terrorists in your home who are willing to kill, willing to commit the worst acts imaginable against a human being in the most macabre and violent way possible — that is something beyond words," he recounted during an interview with the news anchor and executive director, Karina Yapor.

Cohen explained that, amid the fear and uncertainty, his main concern was not what might happen to him, but the fate of his mother and sister. "The only thing I can remember is how we were standing with my father, holding the door to the shelter shut any way we could," he recalled. As they tried to keep it shut, he saw his sister hiding under the bed, terrified, next to his mother. "My biggest concern was for my mother and my sister and what might happen to them if they were captured by the terrorists," he said. At the same time, they were trying to contact emergency services, but they received no response that would let them know when help would arrive.

Their desperation reached the point where Cohen began sending messages to some friends that could have turned out to be farewells. "The fact that I was sending friends messages that might have been farewells, since I didn't know if, at that moment, we'd be able to keep holding off the attacks and keeping the door shut," he recounted. Eventually, the Israeli Army managed to rescue the family, but for Cohen, the suffering did not end with their release. "The trauma of the aftermath" was, as he explained, another of the most difficult aspects to cope with, especially upon returning to a devastated community and discovering that friends, neighbors and family members had been killed or kidnapped. "It took hours, days, and even today it remains something very difficult to deal with," he noted.

Three years after the massacre, Cohen also spoke about the rise in anti-Semitism and called for the victims to be remembered above any political or territorial debate. "Behind all of this are human beings," he affirmed, remembering those who were murdered, kidnapped or lost family members "simply because they were Jewish." For the survivor, the tragedy must be understood from a human perspective: "1,200 human beings were murdered here, so that is what is important to focus on." He concluded: "When it comes to condemning these massacres, we must condemn them with the full force they deserve."

You can watch the full interview by clicking on the video below.