Israeli Teen Survivor of Hamas Oct. 7 Attack Describes Chaos, Horror Inside Her Kibbutz

Renana Botzer Swissa hid in a safe room with her mom for 16 hours

Renana Botzer Swissa, an Israeli teen who was in Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack is sharing her survival story.

Kastina Communications released a video from a new documentary where she describes the terror she endured.

The 13-year-old was familiar with attack sirens. Swissa has even been interviewed several times over the years on Israeli TV stations with her experiences in attacks.

She has dealt with rocket attacks for her entire life but when they sounded on Oct. 7 it was different.

"We realized there are actually terrorists inside our kibbutz," Swissa said.

"I really really believed that this day was going to be my last one."

The surprise attack left more than 1,000 people dead and hundreds kidnapped back to Gaza.

Her mom told her that it was great to raise her and loved her a lot.

"We thought we were saying goodbye to each other," Swissa said.

They stayed in the safe room for 16 hours until the army knocked on their door and evacuated them.

She didn't understand why they survived.

The neighbors on every side of them were murdered.

Her kibbutz is now closed off by the military.

She hasn't been back to her home since Oct. 7. She was shown a video of her home with bullet holes in the kitchen window and spots on the exterior walls where bullets hit.

Swissa is staying in a hotel room with her family until the end of the school year since they can not go back to their home yet.

"I'll eventually come back to my home," Swissa said. "There's going to be a new home and new hope."

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