Metro Atlanta family recalls learning their loved one was killed in Oct. 7 attacks

Three years after the Hamas-led attack in Israel, a metro Atlanta family on Wednesday remembered the day militants attacked Nir Oz, a kibbutz in southern Israel, and killed their loved one.

"They thought it was the usual bombing," said Avishai Ben Zvi, a Johns Creek resident. "No one thought it was going to be an invasion of people."

Ben Zvi says his 80-year-old father, Amitai Ben Zvi, took shelter alongside his caregiver, Jimmy Pacheco, at his home. He said Pacheco sent him a text message saying they were terrified and that Hamas militants had breached his home.

"He was in the safe room; Jimmy couldn't hold the door," Ben Zvi said. "The door doesn't have a lock because, again, it's not meant for people. It's meant only to protect from missiles."

Ben Zvi said militants took both men the shelter and shot and killed his father.

He says Pacheco was wounded during the gunfire and taken hostage."They put him on his knees, shot next to his ears just making him afraid, and took him to Gaza," Avishai said.

The next day, Ben Zvi said he and his wife, Shirley Ben Zvi, were glued to their phones after learning of the attack. Shirley Ben Zvi, a grief counselor, said she delivered the news to her twin daughters.

"We said, 'There's been an attack, an attack in Israel. We're figuring out who is still alive and who's dead,' as simple as that," she said.

Two weeks after the attack, the family traveled to Israel for Amitai Ben Zvi's funeral.

Avishai Ben Zvi said Pacheco was released after being held hostage for 49 days.

He said Pacheco opened a food store in the Philippines and named it after his father.

More than 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel during the attack; 251 people were taken hostage.

The attack led to Israel's war in Gaza, where more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2003.