Celina Rozenblum, a psychotherapist from the humanitarian group IsraAid which specialises in urgent care has told AFP, “Usually, we operate overseas. It’s challenging to restore a sense of security while we are still at war.

“But my presence is important so that they don’t feel alone,” she said.

However, rather than seeking help, many of the hotel residents have remained holed up in their rooms, unable or unwilling to leave. Among them is Saar Ron’s 14-year-old daughter May. The mother and daughter survived the Hamas assault and the burning of their home.

But Ron, 46, who was injured in the hip by a gunshot, said she did not want to receive psychological help because she did not feel “understood” by those who did not experience the attacks. “The psychologists tell us that we are lucky to be alive and that we will rebuild, but we are not really alive,” she said.

“I feel like an empty shell. It is impossible to understand the scale of the atrocities that befell people. I am waiting to wake up from this nightmare,” she added.