One year has passed since Monica Biboso, a 36-year-old Filipina caregiver in Israel, awoke to the sounds of bombs and gunfire in Kibbutz Be'eri, near the Gaza border. She recalls that harrowing day vividly, when terrorists from Hamas surrounded her home, breaking windows and setting the place ablaze.
In the October 7 massacre that claimed nearly 1,200 lives, 101 civilians were killed in Be'eri, and 30 hostages were taken, 11 of whom are still held captive. Biboso not only survived but also protected her elderly charge, Ester Rot, 81, who suffers from dementia. They were the only two survivors in their neighborhood.
“I never stopped praying because I always believed God was there,” Biboso shared. “I asked Him to protect my children if my time had come, but He didn’t want to call me yet, and I survived.”
Having been married to a Filipino man she met in Israel, Biboso's children, aged seven and five, live with her sister in the Philippines. During the initial hours of lockdown in the safe room, she managed to communicate with her family and friends, but her phone battery soon died.
“When I turned my phone back on, I found video messages from my children crying, sending kisses, and telling me to take care,” she recalled.
Locked in the shelter with Rot for 16 hours, Biboso struggles to forget the experience, recognizing that it may never be possible. “I carry my bag with important documents everywhere. I’m afraid of losing them again. Every night before sleeping, I check outside and lock the door.”
Over the past year, Biboso has undergone psychological therapy to help cope with her memories, fears, and nightmares. “When I heard the sirens, I woke up Ester, dressed her quickly, gave her medication, and we took refuge in the safe room,” she explained. “I knew the situation was serious as the gunfire grew closer.”
During their time in the shelter, Biboso continued to pray, asking God for help. “Maybe God heard me because they couldn’t open the shelter door. I was holding the handle from the inside. He gave me incredible strength.”
After the attack, Biboso and Rot spent a day in the hospital before moving to a hotel by the Dead Sea with other survivors from Be'eri. “My husband and I decided it was best for me to stay for now. I could never leave Ester or let her end up in a nursing home after surviving all this. She is like a mother to me,” Biboso said, who lost her own mother at 16.
“I don’t feel like a hero for saving Ester. I would do anything to save her. I treated her like my mother. Every child would do the same.”
Motivated by economic reasons, Biboso also recognizes that her salary is the only stable income for her family. Daily life in the hotel has a routine. “When we wake up, I help Ester with breakfast, bathe her, take her for walks, and exercise. After lunch, we rest. When I can’t sleep, I crochet. It helps me relax.”
Four months after the attacks, Biboso visited Kibbutz Be'eri with Rot's children. “It was very difficult. I couldn’t stay there long,” she said, noting that her home was completely destroyed. “All my things were burned, reduced to ashes. But my rosary didn’t burn. I found it next to my bed. It was a little burned, but the beads were intact, and the cross was still a cross. My husband gave it to me, and I used to pray with it every night before sleeping. I know I’m safe because of it.”
To this day, Biboso prays the rosary every night before bed. “In the Philippines, when my mother was alive, we prayed the rosary together every day at six o'clock before dinner. I continued to do this.”
After the attacks, a nun living in Tel Aviv called Biboso daily, and they prayed together. “She helped me a lot. If I can’t sleep, I call her, and we pray together over the phone.”
“Prayer is a great help for my healing, relieving the burden in my heart and freeing my mind from negative thoughts,” Biboso stated.
This month, Biboso and Rot are set to move to Kibbutz Hatzerim, where new housing units have been built for Be'eri survivors. “First, you need to have faith in God and be grateful for everything,” Biboso concluded. “You just need to trust Him, and He will find a way to save you. This war will also end because of Him. He will find a way to bring good out of all this.”