Hostage video keeps Oct. 7 horror raw

That day must never be blotted out, even as focus shifts to the bombardment of Gaza

- ROSIE DIMANNO

A woman holds a sign for hostage Naama Levy at a rally last weekend in Tel Aviv, Israel. Levy appears in video footage released Wednesday by the loved ones of five female soldier hostages.

They were the “watchers,” special units of female soldiers stationed at the Nahal Oz Israeli military base, tasked with analyzing video of threats along the border, but not trained in combat.

Seven of them were abducted alive from Nahal Oz on Oct. 7.

Reports surfaced shortly thereafter that it was watchers who’d first alerted their superiors to suspicious activity on the border — warnings that were tragically ignored in what would become a catastrophic failure of Israeli security and deterrence.

Recordings emerged of calls made by female soldiers chronicling, in real-time, the stunning surge of Hamas fighters (and their civilian camp followers) breaching the fence, overwhelming military bases and attacking 22 surrounding communities.

That story must never be allowed to get old. That horror must never be blotted out, even as public focus has inevitably shifted to Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza and the tens of thousands of civilians who have been killed.

In Israel, it’s still Oct. 8 — the day after, the infinite trauma. A trauma most searing for the families of those seized who remain in the hands of Hamas.