Laban family
Kai was just ten days old on Saturday, October 7. His parents, Amy and Uriel, hid with him in the safe room along with his grandmother and her dog Lemon. When the house started catching fire, they put him on the windowsill so he could breathe. That's what saved him.
Kai, the surviving baby on the windowsill. Photograph: The Laban Family
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Amy is feeding Kai when the alarms sound. She runs with him to the safe room along with her mother, Deborah, and on the way they manage to take Lemon the dog, too. Uriel is sleeping in the safe room. Two cats and another dog do not make it in time to enter the sheltered room.
Family members hear the sounds of gunfire and talk in Arabic. They report it in the WhatsApp group.
Three terrorists enter the house and the electricity falls. They start breaking things and try to open the safe room door. Uriel and Amy hold the handle up and prevent entry. The terrorists give up, but before they leave they start burning down the house.
The safe room door is broken and it doesn't close until the end. Uriel sees a fire in the house, and smoke begins to penetrate through the door opening. He sends a voice message asking for help, with the crying of baby Kai in the background.
The safe room is filled with smoke. Amy and Uriel realize they need help. They continue to correspond with the kibbutz's WhatsApp group and call the fire department. The fire call center, unprepared to deal with such a scenario, suggest to put Kai on the windowsill so he can breathe, and stay with the family on the line for two hours.
The neighbors suggest Amy and Uriel go out the window, but they realize that they are trapped since the terrorists are just outside their safe room.
Outside the house, gunshots are heard. Kai cries occasionally, and his grandmother covers his mouth with her hand, so that the terrorists do not hear the sounds of crying.
About three and a half hours from the start of the events, the Laban family is having trouble breathing in safe room. Like the fire department suggested, they put Kai on and off on the windowsill and hope for a miracle. At the same time, the adults alternate between them: one holds the handle, and others inhale long breaths through the window of the safe room.
Uriel receives news that army troops have entered Nirim.
Uriel sees IDF fighters outside the window and waves to them. They help the family members get out through the safe room window - first taking out baby Kai, followed by Uriel, Deborah and finally Amy and the dog Lemon.
Two soldiers drive the Laban family to Soroka Hospital after no available ambulance was found. The two cats and the dog that were left out of the safe room did not survive.
Due to the heavy load, Deborah is hospitalized in the hospital hallway while Amy and Kai are hospitalized in the pediatric ward until their release two days later. Uriel suffers from eye injuries, a sharp cough and nausea.
After two days in the hospital - Amy and Kai are released.
Immediately after the events, the Laban family moves to stay with relatives in Modi'in. After a few days they move to a hotel in Eilat together with the community of Nirim.
Four months after October 7 - the Laban family moves into temporary residence in Beersheba.
המתחם האינטראקטיבי של מפת העוטף ב-7 באוקטובר 2023 נועד לתעד ולהנציח את האירועים שהתרחשו ביישובי עוטף עזה באמצעות תיעודים מזמן אמת, דקה אחר דקה.
הפרויקט בהליכי בנייה ותחקיר, בשלבים הבאים יתווספו נקודות רבות על המפה, לרבות בסיסי צה”ל, הרחבת אזורי המסיבות והדרכים המובילות לעוטף.
לפרטים נוספים וליצירת קשר לחצו כאן
אזהרה: התוכן מכיל תיאורים ותיעודים קשים לצפייה
