War in Israel: Israeli soldier describes horrors in wake of Hamas attack

ByJasmine Minor WLS logo
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Chicagoan serving in Israel describes horrors in wake of Hamas attack
Yossi Bluming, who went to school in Chicago, is serving in Israel with the Israeli Defense Forces and described the horrors he's found as he works to recover bodies of victims of

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Yossi Bluming, who went to school in Chicago, is serving in Israel with the Israeli Defense Forces and described the horrors he's found as he works to recover bodies of victims of Hamas' weekend attack.

IDF First Sergeant Bluming has seen it all up close: the rockets and the slaughter.

"It's hell and Satan's version," he said. "Entire families burned alive in their vehicles, toddlers, you know, unfortunate to say, decapitated."

"Just the sight of seeing a family extinguished one by one by one deliberately over the course of hours," he added, unable to finish.

He said an Israeli family locked themselves inside a home but instead of the Hamas terrorists moving on, they eventually broke in and murdered the entire family one by one.

"They would not give up until an eight-year-old child, eight-year-old daughter was snuffed out as well," Bluming said.

Bluming and his fellow troops said they found the eight-year-old shot but alive.

They also found cameras, bodies of Hamas militants, and body armor. Bluming said their focus has been to recover and save as many lives as possible. He said his family in Chicago and his wife in Israel understand.

"Gave one glance to each in the eyes and she said 'Good luck, stay safe out there.' It was kind of understood that you realize these atrocities of what's being done it's a mission above us," he said.

He said he has felt the eyes of the world on him during these recovery missions, and their support as well.

"It's a powerful, powerful move of support that you as a soldier can look behind you and say the world's behind you," he said. "I believe there is a price that has to be paid for the bloodiest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust."