Eliana Suissa: "In One Moment, I Became a Mother to My Granddaughters"

On the morning of Simchat Torah, Eliana Herstein (Suissa) awoke to a nightmare. In reality, it's a situation she's familiar with as a longtime resident of Sderot: Kassams, interceptions, and red alert sirens. Together with her husband, who suffers from Alzheimer's, she hurried to the shelter, hoping it would soon end. But she was unaware that this time her life was about to turn upside down.

Eliana, a mother of four and grandmother to six, describes her family as tightly-knit, often gathering together. Among them was Dolev, her youngest son, married to Hodaya, with their two daughters, ages six and three. Like any devoted grandmother, Eliana often babysat her granddaughters. But since Simchat Torah, she has become like a mother to them under tragic circumstances.

"At 6:25, the red alert woke me," she describes. "We were used to Kassams, but not to such a barrage – 50-60 Kassams in just 20 minutes. Later came the harsh truth: they intended to distract us with the Kassams while terrorists were infiltrating. Dolev and Hodaya, living five minutes away from me, always kept a suitcase ready with winter and summer clothes. A suitcase not to be touched, ready for any red alert situation. They would flee to the center or north, avoiding staying in the city. They usually went to Hodaya's father in Lod or a hotel or bed-and-breakfast up north, wherever accepted them. Although they had a safe room at home, after a missile hit one two and a half years ago and killed a child, Eden Avigal, they no longer believed it was safe, hence they planned to flee the city.

"We have a family custom that whenever there are alerts, everyone updates via WhatsApp that they're okay, and Hodaya was always first to check if everyone was alright. This time too each was supposed to report, but suddenly they weren’t responding. Not Dolev, not Hodaya, nor their eldest daughter, to whom I had just bought a cellphone two weeks prior. No response from anyone. Meanwhile, power and communication were down for hours. We kept trying to reach them amidst the alerts.

"Half an hour later, power returned, and I learned that there were also terrorists in my neighborhood, 100 meters from my house, something unprecedented. While there were Kassams, I heard gunfire too but hadn't thought they were from terrorists. At that point, I was informed that 17 pensioners were murdered at a bus station, and a terrorist fired an RPG missile at a nearby truck. We sealed windows and remained ensconced, still trying to contact them whenever possible, but no answer.

"At one point, Hodaya's brother-in-law told me their building neighbors saw them at 6:55 with a suitcase, making me realize we might be in serious trouble," Eliana continues, tears falling. "Terrorists in the city, and they left, unresponsive. I pushed that thought away... Just before noon, I heard knocking at my door. I was afraid to open until the person behind identified themselves as Jewish. It was a young man, who told me a resident named Yinon was looking for me and asked me to call him. When I asked why, he evaded, only saying, 'your granddaughters are with him and they're fine.' He said a soldier brought them to him as he exited the synagogue and was heading for shelter, and not to worry, they were okay.

"I contacted Yinon and asked to speak with the older granddaughter on the phone. She recounted what happened. Her father went with people, and she never saw him again, nor with whom he left and where. She said someone saw them and offered to take them to safety. I later found out she censored information, worried about me. It turned out it was a police officer, likely on shift change, who saw Hodaya screaming and shaking after witnessing Dolev being shot.

"What happened, seen later in videos, was that while trying to leave the city, they were fired upon while driving. When the terrorists moved on, they exited the car and split up on foot. Dolev carried the younger daughter, and Hodaya had the older. They tried to flee, but Dolev's foot was injured, slowing him down. He shielded the younger with his body, and a terrorist shot him. Then they called the terrorist, who got in their car and left the city.

"While bleeding, Dolev asked the little one to go to the car, hoping she might be saved and the car would shield her. At the same time, Hodaya returned. The officer entered the area, stopped a young man guarding a construction site, and asked him to drive Hodaya’s car to safety. The little one was already inside, and the older one got in. They both hid in the back, driving towards a police station. Unfortunately, none knew it was a more severe murder scene, with about 30 terrorists, if not more. Some stayed outside, shooting anyone passing, but most stormed the station, taking control.

"In another video, the officer arrived a bit earlier, but terrorists took over his vehicle and murdered him, surrounded Hodaya’s jeep, shot her and the driver, and looked inside to see if there were others to shoot. Thank Hashem they were blind to my granddaughters hiding in the back. They took their parents but saved the girls.

"Meanwhile, exchanges of fire began between officers and terrorists. The older girl heard them withdrawing and realized there was a small window for help and shouted 'save us, help us.' A SWAT officer heard her cries and approached with an emergency unit officer. She asked if they were police, and they confirmed. But she insisted on knowing if they were Israeli, needing assurance after seeing supposed officers killing her father. Only when told they were, did she reveal she had a baby with her, prompting their rescue.

"The emergency unit officer who rescued them, Yair, later told me he couldn’t understand how the older one managed to hide her younger sister where she did, claiming he couldn't even fit a drink bottle there. Their survival posed a testament to the elder’s foresight, realizing the danger and skillfully hiding her sister under the driver's seat. They stayed with the young couple for two days before being extracted."

"Due to My Husband's Alzheimer’s, Only the Word 'Shabbat' Saved Us"

"We were trapped for six days in a dark room, an ordeal, especially with my husband who has dementia and is a smoker. I now say the word 'Shabbat' saved us, reminding him at least not to smoke on Shabbat. So, that Saturday night, I told him it was the start of Shabbat, and continued the next day that it was still Shabbat, dragging it out over six days to prevent him from going to smoke on the balcony. Otherwise, during times I crawled to use the bathroom or get a drink, he might’ve gone and attracted terrorists.

"Eventually, we learned Dolev was shot that morning, found by two young men coming back to Sderot after an outing, who moved him to an emergency station, but he lost a lot of blood meantime. It’s not clear when he reached the facility and hospital. Now I start piecing things together, step by step, gathering strength for it. It’s hard on us."

Do you have any thoughts about what’s next, about returning to Sderot?

"I've decided we’re not going back until the state commits to genuinely ensuring our security. Not the empty words we've heard for 20 years. Things will not return as before. Let decision-makers and the 120 Knesset members live here for a year under these conditions to understand what we endure and only then we might return. Currently, we're relocated to a hotel in Rechovot, but my real home is my own house, not the hotel I'm living in. A hotel is pleasant for five days at most. Additionally, I want to send a message to all Sderot and envelope residents not to return until the fighting ends and the IDF overcomes Hamas, ensuring everyone can return home safely. Returning earlier would weaken the army, leaving them to live in fear. As long as these Amalekites persist, we live in fear. We were the human shield for all central residents.

"Additionally, I believe Israelis must aid in advocacy and encourage friends and family abroad to continue spreading awareness, aiming to combat anti-Semitism."

How are your granddaughters handling the horrible loss they experienced?

"Last Thursday, my eldest granddaughter struggled significantly as it was her mother’s birthday. We all had a hard day. Generally, they’re attending programs but not without difficulty. Every time another piece of reality sets in, complexities arise. Their coping will not be straightforward, requiring much time for healing."

Eliana Herstein (Suissa) appeared on Morin Koresh's show "Not Taken for Granted." The full episode will air soon