Naturopathy expert and evacuee treats other October 7 survivors

• Published date: 25 March 2024
• Author: EVE YOUNG
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Peri was woken up at 6:30 a.m. by sirens that went on and on. "We couldn't leave the bomb shelter. It was just constant Red Alerts and barrages. We didn't understand what was happening. Then friends and family started to call me and tell me about the infiltration of terrorists in various places."

Peri was home alone, able to understand only parts of what was going on through her phone, which gave only spotty information as the cell reception wasn't good in the closed shelter. "I started locking up the house, but it was hard because there were constant Red Alerts and barrages," said Peri.

"The hours go by and you start hearing there are terrorists in the kibbutz. I kept my cool. I turned off the AC. I turned off the lights," said Peri, noting that it was all about getting things done without becoming hysterical.

"You start hearing a ton of shots and a ton of yelling. I laid in the dark all those hours in the shelter. You really hope that they don't come in. They kept coming and going. Things are quiet and then loud and then quiet and then loud," described Peri.

"I tried to find solutions to secure the door of the shelter to keep them from coming in," Peri added, saying that she tried to tie it shut a few different ways, all the while hoping they would not enter her house.

"It was a miracle that they did not come into my home, even though they easily could have. They went into the homes of all of my neighbors. I live in the neighborhood that was most badly hurt on the Kibbutz. In some of my neighbors' houses, they killed people, in some, they burned things, and in some, they threw grenades.

"They disconnected my [cooking] gas balloons and put them at my front door to try to blow them up, but my neighbor saw this from far away and shot at them," she said. "In hindsight, we realized they were trying to blow up all the houses with the gas balloons."

Recovering as an evacuee in Eilat

Peri was thankfully unhurt in the attack on Ein Hashlosha, which killed four of its residents, but her business and livelihood have been badly harmed, she said. After the attack, Peri was evacuated to Eilat with her community.

When they arrived in Eilat...