’Mother’s stomach ripped open, baby still there, stabbed’: Israeli recounts horror of Hamas attack

As the war between Israel and Hamas fighters of Gaza strip rages killing thousands on both sides of the border, unlashing the horrors of aftermath of war- that includes lives lost, dead bodies strewn around, properties damaged, families ruined.

Volunteers collecting bodies in war-torn Israel and Gaza have shared many testimonials that reveal the consequences of this war that unleashed between Hamas fighters and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu.

Over the last weekend, Hamas militants from Gaza unleashed the deadliest attack on Israel killing thousands. One volunteer told AFP, that he is used to picking up Israeli bodies for over a decade now, but the latest Hamas attack pushed him to a breaking point.

Following are excerpts from an AFP report of Landau recounting horror

Yossi Landau, a Zaka volunteer, woke to the sounds of sirens on Saturday, a moment he had become "used to" as Israelis took shelter from incoming rocket fire. It was not until later that he realised the launches were "only a cover up, because the main part is the invasion" by Hamas militants, who swept across the Gaza border to kill an estimated 1,200 people, AFP report states.

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"I saw cars turned over, I saw people on the street dead," Landau said in Sderot, a town near the border where multiple residents were killed.

He has 33 years of experience volunteering for Zaka, an organisation which recovers the bodies of people who suffered unnatural deaths.

"A piece of road that should've taken 15 minutes, it took us 11 hours because we went and picked up everyone, put them in a bag," said the 55-year-old.

"I felt that I'm falling apart, not only me, my whole crew," he recalled, after entering the first home and finding a dead woman.

"Her stomach was ripped open, a baby was there, still connected with the cord, and stabbed," said Landau.

The Zaka volunteer said he saw multiple civilians, including around 20 children, who had their hands tied behind their backs before being shot and torched.

"We saw some victims positioned that they were sexually abused," he added.

In response to the Hamas assault, Israel has so far hit Gaza with 6,000 bombs according to military figures.

The strikes have killed 1,417 Gaza residents, according to health officials in the Palestinian territory.

Confronting with the scale of violence, Landau said he doesn't "feel anything right now."

"We just take our feelings, with our job, and we separate it. And that's what we have to do," he said.

(With inputs from AFP)