Natalia Casarotti, mother of Keshet Casarotti, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Nova festival, released a harrowing recording at a press conference of her son's final call to emergency services, made at 7:06 AM on the morning of the massacre.
In the call, Keshet is heard attempting to summon medical help, reporting what he believed was a serious multi-vehicle pileup and stating that he was in pain and unable to move from his location.
"Where's the ambulance I ordered?" Keshet is heard asking at the start of the call. He then tried to explain what was happening around him: "I just sent a location, there are several cars stuck here with an ambulance, there are like 10 cars that had an accident,."
When asked whether the injured were conscious and if he could approach them, he replied: "I don't know, I don't know, I'm here myself in pain. Okay?" A moment later, Keshet is heard panicked, saying: "Listen to me, listen to me, can you move? I'm dying of fear and I can't move."
Later in the call, he was asked to estimate how many vehicles were at the scene. Keshet counted them aloud and answered: "I see, with my own eyes right now, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 cars, in an accident, okay?"
When asked if he saw people moving or getting out of the vehicles, he said: "I see people moving, I see people here, I don't, I don't want to, I don't know, not to approach, because I want to check." He then added: "Can't move so much, I'm also in pain, okay?"
After playing the dramatic recording, the mother shared her anguished feelings and the terrible image seared into her memory, while leveling harsh accusations regarding the policy of transferring funds to Gaza in the years preceding the disaster. The mother described how when she hears about suitcases of cash that were transferred, she sees before her eyes her son Keshet sitting in a car under a bridge next to his friend Moti, shot in the head and heart. She wondered in anguish how much of that money was used to build tunnels and purchase the weapons with which her son was murdered.
The mother concluded her remarks with a piercing call for soul-searching by decision-makers ahead of Yom Kippur. She demanded that those responsible conduct an accounting of the money, the decisions, the warnings, and the failure that led to the murder of approximately 1,200 people, and made clear that the bereaved families will hold them to account.
"I read 'suitcases of cash' and I see Keshet under the bridge. Sitting in the car next to Moti. His blond hair disheveled over his face. One bullet in the head and one in the heart," she said. "How much of that money turned into tunnels? Into weapons? Into the capability that allowed Hamas to reach my child??? Three years!!!! I knew I was living in a functioning country. A country with morals. A country that cares for its citizens.
"I was wrong. How wrong I was, dear G-d. Not only did the state not care for Keshet and 1,200 more people that morning. In a few days it's Yom Kippur. A day of soul-searching. So do soul-searching. About the money. About the decisions. About the warnings. About the failure. About 1,200 people who were murdered. We will hold you to account."
