Kim Damti, a 22-year-old Irish-Israeli dual citizen, is among the hundreds of people who are unaccounted for after a surprise large-scale attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel early Saturday morning.
Damti was attending a rave party in the Negev desert, near the border with Gaza, when Hamas launched a barrage of rockets and sent gunmen into Israel in a multi-pronged and unprecedented assault.
Damti’s mother, Jennifer Damti, who is from Portlaoise, Ireland, said she last spoke to her daughter when the first rockets were launched by Hamas into Israel at around 6:30 a.m. local time.
“She’s just a brilliant kid, a happy kid, trying to have fun. They shot them (the young people) down like ducks. So many kids were slaughtered there,” Jennifer told The Irish Times.
Jennifer said Kim’s name was originally on a list of those who had reached a safe kibbutz, but she was not on the buses that evacuated those at the rave.
A devastating attack
The attack by Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, was one of the most brazen and deadly in the long-running conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
Hamas said it fired 5,000 rockets into southern Israel, while Israel’s military said 2,500 rockets were fired. The rocket fire served as cover for an infiltration of fighters who entered Israel by land, sea and air, using bulldozers, hang gliders, motorbikes and boats.
Hamas said it captured Israeli soldiers and civilians, posting videos of some of them on its social media accounts. Israel’s military said at least 700 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured in the attack, and that some Israelis had been taken captive by Hamas.
Israel responded by launching airstrikes on what it said were Hamas targets in Gaza, where Palestinian officials said at least 400 people were killed and hundreds more injured as a result.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was “at war” and vowed to “destroy” Hamas.
A dual identity
Kim Damti is one of five siblings, all born in Israel. Her father is Israeli and her mother is Irish. The family lived in Gadera, a town in central Israel, but spent their summer holidays in Ireland.
Damti had both Irish and Israeli passports and spoke both English and Hebrew fluently. She was studying psychology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba.
Damti loved music and dancing, and often attended festivals and parties with her friends. She was also interested in spirituality and meditation.
Her mother described her as a “beautiful soul” who was “always smiling”.
A desperate search
Jennifer said she had been in contact with the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and the Irish Embassy in Tel Aviv, as well as Israeli authorities and volunteers who were searching for the missing.
She said she hoped that her daughter Kim Damti was still alive and that she would be reunited with her soon.
“I’m praying that she’s somewhere safe, maybe hiding or maybe taken by someone who will look after her,” she said.
She also appealed to anyone who might have seen or heard from her daughter to contact her or the authorities.
“I just want to hear her voice again. I love her so much,” she said.
Table: Some facts about Kim Damti
| Name | Kim Damti |
|---|---|
| Age | 22 |
| Nationality | Irish-Israeli |
| Occupation | Student |
| Last seen | October 7, 2023 |
| Location | Negev desert, near Gaza border |
| Status | Missing |
| Homepage | factynews.com |
