Israeli Kibbutz Nirim Resident Recalls Miraculous Escape from Hamas Horror, Shares Her Future Hopes

KIBBUTZ NIRIM, Israel – Israeli-American Adele Raemer has gained attention worldwide by sharing her story on social media and news outlets.  Earlier this year, Gordon Robertson spoke with Adele on the 700 Club about October 7th, when Hamas attacked her Kibbutz. 

CBN News met with Raemer at her home recently for a closer look at what it will take to restore her community. Few survivors of the October 7th Hamas massacre came as close to death as Adele Raemer, a resident of Kibbutz Nirim on the Gaza perimeter.

When we arrived, she welcomed us, saying, "Thank you for coming down to my kibbutz, which is still a war zone. We are refugees in our own land, we cannot live here. It's a closed military zone."

She added, "I am, with 70 percent of my community, still living in Beersheba (the largest city near the kibbutz) for now, as an interim solution, until we can finally come back home."

Raemer shared with CBN News the challenges of still being separated from friends and neighbors. That's one reason, she remains focused on advocating that her community be rebuilt so residents can safely return.

"(The) kibbutz is so much more than just the houses and the dining room and the fields. Kibbutz is community," she explained. "When you live on kibbutz, you don't lock your door. You go outside to the lawn, you see neighbors. You go to the little convenience store. We're 430 people in this community, and I know everybody." 

Raemer took us back to the day Hamas changed her beloved home when she was enjoying a visit from her son.

Standing inside her home's bomb shelter, where she and her son were hiding from the terrorists, she recalled, "This is where I was on October 7th. My son was sitting by the door holding down the handle, and I was sitting on the bed. And many of these rooms were infiltrated by terrorists because it's easy to open up. The doors can only lock as it is. It can only lock if you're pulling down on the handle if you're strong enough to keep it closed."

She then took us to another key site for Raemer that day.

"So, we're going to go into my son-in-law's house," she explained. "This is where I almost lost my three grandchildren on October 7th. The terrorists came into the house. My son-in-law was one of the first responders. So, he had a gun, and he was with the children in the safe room. And he heard the terrorists enter the house."

At that point, they could only wait inside the safe room.

Pointing to a bed, she said, "My three grandchildren were on that bed. And (her son-in-law) told them, 'Hide under the blanket. You're going to hear a loud noise. Don't come out from under the blanket no matter what happens.' He raised his gun and waited until he saw the handle of the safe door moving. And he kicked open, opened the door to the safe room and shot the terrorist who was right there. Right in front of the door."

The children and their dad all survived.

Raemer believes a number of miracles happened in her kibbutz. One example: no children kidnapped from Nirim.

I realized (the abductees were) supposed to be my three grandchildren. If he had not been here with his gun, they would have been murdered or kidnapped."

Three Israeli soldiers entered the kibbutz early in the attack and bravely fought the terrorists until they lost their lives.

"Their bodies are in Gaza, and on the wall (of a temporary free-standing bomb shelter) here it says, 'Kan Nichamu B'Oz: This is where heroes of Israel fought bravely.'"

Raemer says of the soldiers' early arrival and bravery, "That was another one of the little miracles that happened that day."

Standing by a fence where the terrorists broke through, Raemer told us Kibbutz Nirim suffered in more ways than one.

"The people who lived here have always pined for peace. We've always held our hands out in peace to our neighbors. And there were years when Gazans worked here, and there was a lot of interaction. We would donate money to them and give (them) food," she remembered.

In the 2005 "Disengagement," Israel removed some 8,000 Israelis from their Jewish settlements in Gaza, which then became a hotbed for terrorism when Palestinians occupied the entire Gaza Strip.

Even so, Israeli hospitals continued to treat seriously ill Gazans, and Kibbutz Nirim residents would drive them from the border to their treatments.

"So, there are so many people here in this region that were peace activists, that worked for peace. And we built so many bridges that just collapsed that day (October 7th, 2023).  And these are the people that those animals, those monsters, thought that they should come on over and slaughter," Raemer declared.

Now she focuses on moving forward, which includes making improvements to the house before she returns, especially upgrading the bomb shelter to make it safe from terrorists and gunfire, not just from rockets. She also plans changes, including windows, doors, and a larger porch.

"That will be my victory. That will be how I will reclaim my house, my life," she said with determination. "I had so much stolen from me, and there's no way I'm going to let that stand."

Community renovation projects are also needed for a full recovery, and CBN Israel is helping in that effort by providing a new community hub for families and friends of Kibbutz Nirim. 

Plans include a community center dining room, a new kitchenette, and a convenience store.

Looking to the future, Raemer said, "So, I will be back here building bigger and better as we're going to be doing with the community – so that young families are going to be willing to come back and new families, hopefully with young children, will want to join us."

***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***