Prized Photographer Koren Publishes War Journal

“One never happens, but the other happens every day.”

This was the powerful, gut-wrenching response from Ziv Koren, the acclaimed, Israeli photojournalist after being asked when covering and documenting the horrific Oct. 7 carnage, if he cries in public or in private.

Koren has been covering Israel/Palestinian issues for more than 30 years, ever since the first Intifada. Koren, a highly decorated photographer and one of the most accomplished photojournalists in the world, has published more than 20 photo books. His latest one, entitled, “The October 7 War,” is perhaps his greatest project and the most significant to date.

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On Oct.7, on that “black” Saturday morning when chaos was taking over Israel’s southern border and Koren heard what had occurred, he knew one thing — he had to be there. He hopped on his motorcycle and drove south. The main roads were blocked so he was forced to take side roads to get to the massacre sites. He photographed and videoed the initial aftermath of the slaughter. He was one of the first photographers to arrive and witness the carnage from the biggest attack and atrocities done to Jewish people since the Second World War.

The devastation that Koren saw and documented was horrific and will forever be engraved in the minds of Israelis and Jews worldwide. Scenes he photographed include people shot in their cars, bodies burned outside a bus stop, the entire Gaza envelope and kibbutzim destroyed, the devastating battle at the Sderot police station, and the firefights with Hamas terrorists.

Not long after he arrived, Koren soon found himself in the middle of a fight between IDF soldiers and Hamas. Koren was literally in the middle of a war zone, even hearing gun shots flying over his head. “There is a fine line between being brave and being stupid,” said Koren. Keeping safe while photographing was of vital importance.

Until he arrived at the scene and started taking pictures, while seeing bodies piled up and young survivors hiding under bushes, Koren had been unaware of the Nova Festival. It was devastating and painful to watch and comprehend the immense destruction and images of the injured and of the ones who did not survive. It took four to five days to eliminate the terrorists who were still in and around the area.

Over 500,000 photos were taken over the span of a year, since the Oct. 7th atrocities, from the southern border, from the hostage’s families, personal stories of survivors, and the subsequent, perilous missions of the IDF in Gaza.

More than 400 photos made the final cut in the book, which also serves as an important historical document to show the world the horrors of Oct. 7. Koren felt obligated telling and capturing the stories of the IDF and the Israeli people, as there are still so many people in the world who are uneducated and/or unaware, and those who have denied the disturbing events of that day.

Koren said, “After such inconceivable events, I think that without authentic documentation, we could one day struggle to believe that this happened, that in 2023, the State of Israel experienced the most dramatic tales of horror and heroism since the Holocaust.”

Israeli citizens fought and risked their lives, trying to save their brothers and sisters from the terrorists who were killing and raping civilians. Many were kidnapped out of their homes and out of their beds.

After such inconceivable events, I think that without authentic documentation, we could one day struggle to believe that this happened, that in 2023, the State of Israel experienced the most dramatic tales of horror and heroism since the Holocaust.

Koren also insisted on taking a picture of an injured and burnt baby because, “The world needs to see the cruelties of our enemies.” He followed the baby and her family for a year, detailing the unimaginable story of two young parents and their baby, Yael. He captured the parent’s rehabilitation. The mother was in a coma for 53 days. All had been badly burned. The mom was a medical student who was about to finish her internship in the hospital, and while recovering, went back to the same hospital as a patient and as a doctor. Against all odds, she became a physician.

And indeed, as a historical document, that’s precisely what the book does: using heart-wrenching photos from Oct. 7 and beyond, essays from contributors, including survivors and hostages – such as Danielle Aloni, Mia Schem, Ofir Engel – IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral (Tat Aluf) Daniel Hagari, and many more.

The remarkable story of hostage, Mia Schem, is a vital part of the book, as she has become the most famous captive and the first one to appear in the propaganda video that Hamas released, with her forcibly saying that her “captives took care of her wounded hand and did a surgery that helped her heal.”

Of course, that was a complete fabrication. It was a veterinarian who actually operated on her hand and with no anesthesia, causing severe damage to her hand’s nerves and ligaments. Koren was invited to her house for five weeks to take pictures and video her recovery and he became a family friend and a father figure.

Koren said that his book must have some hope and that, “We will not be complete as a nation until all hostages are back home. This is documentation of history, and they are in the books that my grandchildren will study in school in 50 years. This is what will shape our knowledge for future generations.”

Koren went on to comment, “It’s become a kind of Yad Vashem. People want to come and identify and go through an emotional process here. We have this natural tendency to push all this aside and just focus on the latest news of the hour.”

Koren dedicated many pages of his book to the IDF soldiers whom he calls “superheroes.”