In the kibbutz of Kfar Aza, the smell of corpses and burnt wood mingled with that of fresh grass and cypress trees. Death had invited itself in the most violent way into this small community of low-slung houses and tidy gardens, spreading to courtyards, orchards, terraces, bedrooms and the most remote corners. Under the gaze of international press journalists invited by the Israeli army on October 10, the soldiers checked the houses one by one, looking for entrenched enemies, makeshift mines or unexploded grenades. They also searched for possible survivors but, more often than not, for victims of the October 7 attack, destined to become a momentous date in the history of Israel and Judaism. It's the day Hamas took more lives – 1,200 dead, according to a new count – than during the second intifada (2000-2005). The day of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

"We collect the bodies and put them in bags. The terrorists killed those they didn't kidnap or those who didn't flee. There are no survivors. It's a nightmare," said a just mobilized reservist, his eyes hesitating between shock and sadness as a man, killed with two children, had just been discovered. These were three more victims for a town that had 700 inhabitants last week. No full count has yet been made.

The site was only recaptured on Monday, and infiltration continued via the fence that isolates Gaza, which is still porous, and perhaps by other routes. Asked if any tunnels had been discovered under the security fence, a soldier replied, "That's not the problem. It's the infiltrated fighters." Hamas militants are always hiding in the invaded area and can remain hidden for days or even weeks, as members of Hezbollah were able to do during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2006.

A small piece of Israel's history

In the distance, like the raucous blast of an active volcano, the air was torn apart by explosions, and muffled blasts resounded with powerful pounding: air strikes and shells were falling on Gaza, less than 2 kilometers away. Entire neighborhoods of the enclave were pulverized, building by building, by the Israeli response, the most severe since the 2007 blockade. Some 900 Gazans have been killed to date. Twice, during a visit to the kibbutz, soldiers sounded the alarm for a salvo of rockets from Gaza. The Iron Dome, the anti-aircraft defense system, is less effective here, right next to the enclave.

"I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly," said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday. On Tuesday, during a visit to another resumed kibbutz, Be'eri, he added: "I have removed every restriction – we will eliminate anyone who fights us and use every measure at our disposal." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the attack as "the most savage since the Holocaust."

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