Sister of October 7 victim calls for everyone to be ‘safe in their homes’

The sister of a Scottish man killed in the October 7 attack on Israel has called for “peace in the Middle East and for people to be safe in their homes”.

Bernard Cowan, 57, was shot in his dining room a year ago by Hamas terrorists who invaded the Kibbutz Sufa, while his wife Margaret hid in their panic room.

Mr Cowan, who had lived in Israel for 40 years, became claustrophobic and went to sit at his dining table, where he was murdered by Hamas terrorists.

The father-of-three left Scotland age 17 after high school in Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire, and completed Israeli military service before settling in the kibbutz, and worked in a factory, The Herald reported.

His older sister Laura Schosloff, 60, described Mr Cowan as a “normal chap” with three grandchildren, who collected fridge magnets from his travels, and enjoyed having a barbecue.

She described the kibbutz as “his paradise” and said she was “envious” of his life there until her “quiet” and “welcoming” sibling was murdered.

Mr Cowan was one of 1,180 Israelis killed on October 7, including 797 civilians and 36 children, in a series of attacks by Palestinian militants.

An Oxfam report issued recently said “conservative” figures for Palestinians killed in the past 12 months in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack included 11,000 children – more than any conflict for two decades according to UN figures. It says 6,000 women have been killed, with 25,000 children orphaned or mourning the loss of a parent.

Mrs Schosloff said she wanted peace “as soon as possible”, and believed Hamas and Hezbollah used civilians as “shields”.

She said: “A baby is a baby whether Jewish or Muslim. It doesn’t matter what creed or colour, when an innocent person is killed, it is sad for the rest of the world.

“I want peace in the Middle East, and for people to be safe in their own homes.

“The hostages have to come back. The rockets have to stop being fired. I lost my brother and my mum lost a son, our small community have lost one of their own. He was a dad-of-three and a grandad-of-three. We are all struggling.”

Mrs Schosloff said she still found the October 7 attacks “unbelievable”.

She said: “Bernard got claustrophobic. He came out (of their safe room) and was sitting in his dining room table, and Hamas went past and shot him dead.

“Margaret was in the safe room; the soldiers got her out after 12 hours. We don’t know whether she found the body or the soldiers did.

“They burned people alive and took hostages. Then there was the music festival – these were normal young kids – and it’s important that people remember what happened in Israel.

“We’re not after Palestinians – it’s the terrorists and you’ve got to separate the two, but, unfortunately, Hamas use their own people as shields, and it’s the same with Hezbollah.”

The family travelled to Downing Street last week to meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, with Mrs Schosloff praising him for “supporting Israel” and mentioning “every single hostage” of the 101 people still held in captivity.

Mrs Schosloff told The Herald: “We met people whose family have been through the same. We met a lady whose daughter was taken – they shot her in the hand, shot her dog dead and took her. They don’t know whether she’s still a hostage.

“Another chap we met had two teenagers who were shot dead. We’ve heard horrendous stories – babies being killed.

“That’s not a normal army that kills babies or takes children, mums and the elderly, whoever they could grab – one of them was a 70 or 80-year-old lady – not even soldiers.”

She said that Mr Cowan and his wife “had a wonderful life” in in the kibbutz, and added: “He was so content. He travelled all over the world, he liked scuba diving, he liked gardening, he worked in the factory and was just a normal chap – but he had his paradise there.”

Mrs Schosloff visits care homes with petting animals, and hoped that speaking to residents who survived the Second World War might help her process events.

She said: “I thought ‘these people have gone through World War II, their families have been killed’, but it is different. At that point Israel was not at war with Hamas.”

Mrs Schosloff said she avoids the news, and was planning to commemorate her brother’s life at a synagogue on the anniversary.

She told The Herald: “I want peace as soon as possible, I want the hostages brought back – there are over 100 still out there.

“There are 80,000 Israelis displaced, including my family and friends, and I want them to be safe.

“But I also want for Palestinians not to be used as shields, I want the Lebanese to feel they’re safe and not being used as pawns for the terrorists.”