Israeli elderly woman Esther Konio (90 years old) told two masked Palestinian militants who had invaded her home in southern Israel moments earlier: "I am from Messi's hometown." This incident occurred on the morning of October 7 when the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement "Hamas" launched an attack on residential communities near the Gaza border, such as the Nirim housing complex where Konio, born in Argentina, was living.
Konio recounted the terrifying encounter in a new documentary about the Hamas attack focusing on the Israeli Latino community. When the militants wanted to know the whereabouts of her family, Konio stated, "I told them: 'Don't speak to me because I don't understand your language; you speak Arabic and I barely speak Hebrew.' I told them, 'I speak Argentine Spanish'... They then asked me: What is Argentina?"
She translated her conversation with the intruders into a mix of Hebrew, Spanish, and gestures referring to the legendary football player Lionel Messi. She continued, "I asked him: 'Do you watch football?' He replied, 'Yes, yes, I love football.' I then said, 'I am from Messi's hometown,' and he responded: 'Messi! I love Messi.'"
In one of the most surreal moments of the October 7 attack, one man leaned over Konio, who was seated, and placed his rifle on her lap while the other filmed them. She added while raising two fingers: "He placed his hand like this... and they took a picture of us, then they left."
A photo of Konio with the AK-47 rifle on her lap circulated on social media, featuring the masked attacker displaying a Palestinian flag on his military jacket. The attacker wore a headband from the Islamic Jihad movement, which joined Hamas in the attack.
Members of the Konio family were taken hostage from other areas of Nirim. Her grandsons David (33 years old) and Ariel (26 years old) are still held in Gaza. David was kidnapped along with his wife and twin children, and they were released later during a brief ceasefire in November in exchange for Palestinian prisoners released by Israel.
