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Tomer Peretz: Israeli-American artist recalls ‘unimaginable’ nightmare of clearing bodies from Hamas massacre site

Tomer Peretz claimed he personally handled at least forty bodies and saw more than 100

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Tomer Peterz, a 41-year-old Israeli-American artist, has come forward to describe the nightmare he witnessed while clearing dead bodies after Hamas’ deadliest attack on Israel.

Peterz is a Los Angeles-based conceptual artist and painter, whose work has been showcased in galleries in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Israel, and throughout Europe.

In his artwork, Peretz depicts his own experiences as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces as well as several contentious issues pertaining to Middle East affairs, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Previously, the artist even launched a limited fashion collection called War Is Over, featuring one-of-one repurposed military jackets with a crypto element.

He was visiting Israel with his two sons to attend his cousins’ wedding when Hamas attacked the Jewish state with nearly 2000 missiles and unleashed dozens of ground attacks that resulted in the deaths of at least 1400 people.

Peterz was not only outraged and appalled by the incident, but he also felt obligated to support his fellow citizens. He immediately decided to volunteer with ZAKA, a special unit search and rescue operation specializing in locating and clearing dead bodies.

Tomer Peretz recounts horror of clearing bodies

After signing up with ZAKA, Peretz was assigned to a highly specialized unit that was sent into the Be’eri kibbutz, where more than 100 people, including babies, had been tortured and slaughtered by merciless Hamas militants.

He personally collected the bodies of burned kids, an old woman who had been "shot in the face about 20 times," and innocent males. “Everything was kind of blown, there was no face,” Peretz said of the woman.

“We picked up body parts like arms … My team picked up a burned baby with an ax in its head. My team leader put the baby inside a bag,” he told the NY Post.

He further informed that his duty was to pick up the bloodied, burned corpses and, in accordance with Zaka's routine, wrap and roll them in plastic before marking the individual's house number on their back with a marker and placing them in a bag.

Peretz shared with the Post gory photos of bloodstained hallways and walls, as well as photos showing stuffed body bags and damaged homes.

The artist claimed that during the three and a half days he spent volunteering with Zaka before his return to the US, he personally handled at least forty bodies and saw more than 100.

“We sometimes didn’t know if they were a brother or a terrorist but we always treated them like a brother because you never want to make a mistake,” he said, adding “[Even if they were a terrorist] We don’t spit on them. We don’t [defile them], we don’t do that kind of things. We just wrap them, and give them to the military — I have no idea what the military does with the bodies next.”

Tomer Peretz witnessed 'unimaginable' scenes after Hamas massacre

After the brutal attack, Peretz called a friend who had worked for the unit for 25 years to offer help, and he accepted him "because he knew I was crazy enough to come."

But what he said rattled him to his very core and Peretz says he “still hasn’t processed” the sheer horror of what he experienced.

He described the scenes as "unimaginable" and claimed to have witnessed a number of volunteers and military personnel throw up and pass out from the intensity of the destruction and the sights and odors.

“From the second you enter the kibbutz there is the smell of death and burnt bodies. One of the hardest things in the operation is body pickup,

“Something that makes it very difficult physically and mentally is when the body is laying there a few days and it gets swollen and it’s squirting and exploding. There are worms all over, also. There is no special technique for how to handle those things. You just have to do it,” the artist continued.

Peretz described body collecting as “the dirtiest job in the world” but is still desperate to get back and help his fellow Israelis. “I do want to go back. I have a hard time staying here. I cannot do anything,” he said.