Due to the fact that her parents had separated six years earlier, twenty-two-year-old Neta Portal had not been in contact with her father.
She realized that he was the only one who could save her life after Hamas terrorists came into her house in the Jewish village of Kfar Aza and shot her six times.
However, the massacre had already started when they arrived to the kibbutz.
When we meet Neta, she is in a hospital in Tel Aviv, where the surgeons have just finished meticulously removing each bullet from her body. Five of the bullets were removed from her left leg, and one was removed from her right.
After the shooters broke into the safe room of the inhabitants and began fire for the first time, she remembers flitting in and out of consciousness with a trembling body as she recalls the experience:
They were firing their weapons at people. They were firing their weapons at the children. And the crowds were yelling “Please no, please no,” over and over again. Because I didn’t want to pass away, I tried to bring myself to consciousness.
Her lover Santiago, also known as Santi, is currently present at her workspace and is having a difficult time holding back his tears.
The pair had spent a total of four months in Kfar Aza, which they consider to be the most stunning location on the face of the planet.
As Neta thinks about what came after that, their hands start to become white as they tighten their grip on one another.
“Santi asked me, “Neta, would you kindly open the window?” I beg of you, leap.’ I began to open the window, and when I did, I saw ten to fifteen terrorists.”
She was unable to comprehend what it was that she was seeing.
“They were standing on a car with a big machine gun, smoking cigarettes and laughing like they were on vacation.”
Neta claims that both she and her lover, Santi, were afraid to jump out of the window; nonetheless, when an assailant hurled a grenade into the room, Santi grabbed Neta and leaped out of the window with her.
“The terrorists saw us and began to shoot like we were nothing.”
More bullets struck Neta, this time in the hand and the leg. He was also struck in the chest.
“Santiago yelled at me, ‘Please stand up and start to run,'” the victim recounted. If you don’t get up, the two of us are going to perish. We are not going to make it!'”
Santiago was able to bring her to safety two blocks away, where they hid themselves under a large pile of garbage while attempting to maintain as much silence as they could.
During the time that Santiago was frantically trying to stop the flow of blood from Neta’s legs with his shirt, she was able to send another message to her father.
Shimon Portal, who is presently present in the same medical facility as I am and is presently attending to his daughter, describes to me what it was like to get that news.
“I felt a flutter in my chest. My thoughts began to spin out of control. I lost my cool.
Even though the plainclothes police officer was already on his way to Kfar Aza, when he finally reached there in his unmarked car, gunmen opened fire, and the officer returned fire.
Shimon successfully evaded capture by reversing his truck when bullets were flying all around it.
After he had gathered his composure, he made another attempt to save his daughter from the dangerous situation.
This time, though, there was complete silence, so he yelled for Neta.
“All of a sudden, three children raced to my vehicle after hearing me shout in Hebrew. They had been nearby. And I was the one who opened the door. They were making their way to the front lines when suddenly two terrorists emerged from the houses and began shooting at us.
According to Shimon, he was able to get away with all three of the girls.
Even though he was unaware of the location of his daughter’s home, he made his way to the address that she provided.
After that, he located her. He put Neta in the trunk of his car, and then he and Santiago, who had also been wounded in the leg, went to the closest hospital together. Santiago was also injured.
A moment of tenderness shared between a father and daughter during one of the most horrific attacks Israel has ever endured.
Now, Shimon is in the hospital ward, and he looks at his daughter as she gets dressed in her hospital gown.
“My dear and lovely daughter. I have regained possession of her.
However, the rage and despair that he feels overpowers his comfort.
“She is a peaceful little angel. She is solely interested in peace, and she doesn’t understand why someone would kill young children or why people would set fire to young children in the kibbutz.
I ask Neta what she believes the Israeli government’s response should be to the killing of her town and the other atrocities as she is visibly weary and her nurse is sending herself to retrieve more medications. Neta’s nurse is also leaving to retrieve more painkillers.
Her vacillating sense of unease has now transformed into a raging rage at this point.
“Are you looking for the truth? I have decided that the Hamas has no place in my life going forward. It is necessary for us to eliminate each of them individually. We can’t afford to be weak.”
Therefore, what specific actions should the army take?
“The army needs to be present inside Gaza,” argues Neta. They must continue to eliminate one terrorist after another after another after another. I wish with all of my heart that there could be peace, but I don’t think there will be peace.
She inhales and exhales slowly.
“I apologize for having to say that, but I was just in my house. And they shot me as I was lying in bed.
I have one last question for her: does she have any consideration for the innocent people in Gaza who are going to perish as a result of such a rigorous ground operation?
“Everything I say is for the jihadis and Hamas,” the speaker said. My nation’s goal is to avoid causing harm to innocent bystanders. I have no intention of harming innocent bystanders. I pray that they will be spared. They shouldn’t be put to death in my opinion. As if it were necessary for me to perish. They are similar to myself.
“But we need to fight.”
