'This Terror Organization Has Ruined Us All': All Aspects of Life for Israelis, Palestinians Transformed by War

WARNING: The video above contains graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised.  

The impact of war on Israelis ranges from those rushing to danger to save lives to those carefully picking through the aftermath to bring remains to grieving loved ones. 

Soldiers include a new father, forced to close his restaurant to serve with the IDF while his wife, Natasha Kirtchuck, an Israel I24 news correspondent is left to care for their child and share the heartbreaks of war until her husband can return home. 

"I hear every day and I see on social media that people don't believe what happened here," Kirtchuck said. "I believe that it's my job, and the job of the public to share these images on the stories." 

Posting graphic war images online is not how Kirtchuck expected to spend her maternity leave. However, it's one way she can work from home, to verify the brutalities of October 7th's attacks until her husband, Rotem returns from being called to serve alongside thousands of other military reservists. 

Rotem now helps guard members of the Zaka Disaster Victim Identification group, a series of voluntary community emergency response teams in Israel, who carefully remove bodies left behind from the Hamas terror attacks. 

"They would put the bodies in body bags, and my husband and other soldiers would help them carry them out," said Kirtchuck. "And he said that he felt in the bags, the bodies of children with missing body parts." 

One crew member describes the atrocities as greater than those in World War II. One video shared by Kirtchuck shows Zaka standing in front of a female's tarped body. Members say it's important the world knows what sights they encounter every day, describing a body discarded by Hamas as naked, gauged, and bound. 

"So, for anybody (who is watching this) believes that Hamas is some type of pro-Palestinian freedom fighter initiative, with a goal to create peace and to ensure that the Palestinians have their rights restored, you are sorely mistaken," Kirtchuck said. 

While IDF soldiers and Zaka crews perform this emotionally scarring work, first responders with Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's National emergency service, run toward danger to save lives. 

"One of our ambulances that responded to the missile attacks was gunned down by a terrorist," Uri Shacham, a paramedic with the MDA explained. 

Magen David Adom is Hebrew for "Red Star of David," which dates back thousands of years when Israeli soldiers wore the star on their shields for protection during battle. 

"And we are in a different way protecting Israel now 200 years later," said Shacham. "Not with our shields, but with our dedication, our professionalism, and with our compassion towards human lives." 

While the symbol may seem like a target for terrorists, Shacham and his team wear it proudly, navigating explosions to rescue victims whether they are Israeli or Palestinian. 

Whether it's reporting on the war or serving on the expanding battlefield, the emotional and psychological toll can hardly be imagined. Kirtchuck told CBN News the worst part is that her country will never be the same. 

"And so, the bottom line is, that this is a major loss for both Israelis and Palestinians alike," Kirtchuck said. "And for any future of peace, it feels like this terror organization has ruined us all." 

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