Last week, I had the honor and privilege to visit Israel on an organized solidarity mission hosted by the World Zionist Organization and Chairman Yaakov Hagoel. On Day 2, we traveled to Okafim to meet with the Israeli police officer that saved countless lives and meet with families who survived the onslaught by Hamas.

We heard his testimony of how he threw himself on top of bodies in hopes of shielding them from the bullets by Hamas and how his resiliency and calmness under pressure resulted in saving the lives of many of his friends and killing Hamas terrorists.

Then we boarded the buses towards Kfar Aza to bear witness to the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists on October 7th.

As we walked through the Kibbutz, there wasn’t a dry eye in our group as we bore witness to the destruction caused by Hamas. Houses burned to the ground while other houses were covered with bullet holes on the inside and outside.

The Israeli spokesperson giving us the tour told us that the red circles on the houses designated these were the homes where dead bodies were found inside. As we walked down one of the road, with houses on either side, probably around 15 houses, every single house had a red circle.

Walking inside of the houses was surreal to see the bullet holes and grenade shrapnel in the walls knowing all too well that the kitchen I was standing on was where dead Israeli bodies were lying just three months ago. Outside of the homes, some of the families have put up banners with pictures of their loved ones who were murdered.

During our visit to Kfar Aza, we also met with senior members of the IDF who were part of the first responders on the scene. Their testimony about what they saw when they arrived was something I’ve never experienced before.

To watch such strong men and women cry as they told us about the carnage they saw was something I will never forget.

After our tour at Kfar Aza, our next stop was to the site of the Nova Music Festival at Kibbutz Re’im.

There I was, standing on the ground where 364 Jews were killed, hundreds more injured as Israeli fighter jets screeched across the sky and Apache helicopter gunships hovered overhead at 1,000 feet.

While we sang Hatikvah and locked arms with our Israeli brothers and sisters, we could hear machine gun fire in Northern Gaza and the IDF firing artillery shells every 30 seconds. We were in the middle of a war zone. Hamas could have launched rockets at us at any moment but we weren’t scared — we were empowered.

While we sang Hatikvah, which means “Hope” in Hebrew, I was overcome with emotions as I stood on the land where hundreds of Jews were butchered and raped alive and dead for one reasonly only — they were Jews.

That was the only "crime" they committed — being a Jew. The bloodthirst from Hamas on that day is like nothing ever replicated in the world. They cut off body parts of Israelis. They raped Israeli women in front of their friends. They burned bodies alive.

And when they were done killing and raping, they took hostages and in all likelihood, the raping didn’t end in Re’Im.

While Day 2 of the mission was filled with heartbreak, tears and unanswered questions about how this could have ever happened in the first place, it was also filled with “Hatikvah,” a hope for a better tomorrow.

Throughout our solidarity mission, the Israeli people and MK’s that I met from the left and the right told me that national unity and defeating Hamas were the only things that mattered to them. Internal politics were a distant thought and survival as a Jewish state was the only thing that matters right now.

While there was hope from the Israelis I met with, they are also still stuck on October 7th like almost being trapped in time. While it’s more than 100 days later for many of us in the Diaspora, for Israelis, they are stuck in time in disbelief, sadness, anger and frustration.

In closing, I can say with confidence that I know the Israeli people will dance again and they can count on me and millions of Jews in the diaspora to stand by their side as they dance once again.

The spirit of the Jewish people has taken a lot of hits over the years but we always come together to fight for our future and that is exactly what we will do again. We will all dance again. Am Yisrael Chai.

Bryan E. Leib is the CEO of Henry Public Relations and a Senior Fellow for the Center for Fundamental Rights in Budapest, Hungary. Formerly, he served as the Executive Director for Iranian Americans for Liberty, and in 2018, he was a GOP-endorsed congressional candidate (PA-03). He tweets at @BryanLeibFL. Read More Bryan E. Leib Reports — Here.