At noon on October 7, Chaim Talker was working in his grocery store with his daughter at the Tekoa settlement near Jerusalem when he got a bot call (playing a recorded message) on his mobile phone. The message asked him to report to his IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) unit within two hours. He could hear emergency sirens warning of rocket attacks and he knew what the message meant.
Traditionally, the message is known as ‘Order 8’. First mentioned in the Security Service Law of Israel (1949), it can ask any soldier to report for reserve service when necessary. There was mass mobilisation of troops during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, but at that time there were neither bots nor mobile phones. There would be an announcement on the radio or a letter would be dropped to the residences with codes of officers who knew that the call was for them and they would quietly slip away from their homes.
Dropping all work, Talker, 55, changed into his olive uniform, kissed his kids goodbye and set out to join his army unit. Along the way, as he travelled through the streets of Israel, Hamas cadre were butchering, shooting and kidnapping hundreds of innocent people, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas, the Iran-backed militant outfit that runs the Gaza Strip between Israel and Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea, has openly vowed to destroy Israel and kill an Israeli hostage for every Israeli act of retaliation. “It is war,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Even though we did not start it, we will end it.”
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.