A 90-year-old woman was saved from the hands of Hamas by grace to… Lionel Messi. “I’m from where Messi is”, said 90-year-old Esther Kunio to the two masked Palestinian gunmen who had just invaded her home in southern Israel.

It was the morning of October 7, the day of the bloody attack by Hamas in the settlements near the border with the Gaza Strip, among them the Nir Oz kibbutz, where Esther Cunio, born in Argentina, lived.

90-year-old recounts events in new documentary about horrific Hamas attacks which focuses on the Latino Israeli community entitled “Voces Del 7 De Octubre – Latino Stories of Survival”.

The two armed men were asking her where the rest of the family members were.

“Do not talk to me”I said “because I don’t know your language. You speak Arabic and I speak a little Hebrew,” I tell him.“I speak Argentinian Spanish”, says Esther Cunio. Then he tells me “What is Argentina?”

“Then I say to him: ‘Do you watch football?’ He tells me: “Yes, yes, I like football”. I tell him: “I’m from where Messi is.” And he replies: “Messi! I like Messi”.

And then, in one of the most surreal moments of that tragic day, one of the two men leaned over Esther Cunio and dropped the Kalashnikov at her feet. The other photographed them.

“He made his hand thus,” said the 90-year-old mimicking the victory sign. “And they took our picture and then, then they left.”

The photo of Esther Kunio with the AK-47 on her apron and the Palestinian in the military vest and balaclava went viral on social media. THE gunman was wearing a bandana of the Islamic Jihad organization, one of the organizations involved in the attack on Israel.

But, in another part of the kibbutz, Esther’s grandsons, David, 33, and Ariel, 26, were taken hostage and remain in Gaza. David was kidnapped along with his wife and twin children. The three were released during the brief truce in November.

Now, Esther Cunio says she is waiting for her golden boys to return.