"We saw destruction. I didn't even know Ziv was filming": Returning to the chilling photo that became a symbol
Three years after October 7, Lotar fighters Yair Ansbacher and Netanel Makeis, together with photographer Ziv Koren, return to the home of Rachel Cohen in Kfar Aza, where the famous photo of Yair crying on Netanel's shoulder in front of a ruined holiday table was taken. They reconstruct the moments of entering the kibbutz two days after the massacre, the difficult sights, and the human moment captured in the lens that became a symbol of the disaster.
Three years after the massacre on October 7, 2023, Lotar unit fighters Yair Ansbacher and Netanel Makeis, together with photographer Ziv Koren, return to the home of Rachel Cohen in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. This is the house where the iconic photo that became a symbol of the disaster was taken: Yair, a reserve fighter, crying on Netanel's shoulder, in front of a ruined holiday table with challah and wine, surrounded by shrapnel, blood, and destruction. The photo was taken on October 9, 2023, just two days after the massacre, when the Lotar force entered the kibbutz accompanied by photographer Ziv Koren. The two describe entering an active combat zone, with bodies in the field, burned and bullet-ridden houses, and the moment they broke down in front of the ruined holiday table. Yair says he didn't know Koren was filming the moment. Netanel, who was a commander in the force, describes the feeling of destruction. The three meet again at the house three years later and reconstruct the memory.