An American woman who lives on a kibbutz about a mile from the Gaza border said she has received several close calls over the years – but Saturday’s surprise attack by Hamas was on an entirely different scale.
“Yesterday was scary,” said Deborah, who asked not to use her last name for security reasons. “Terrorists running wild through the streets.” This is not like “regular warfare,” he added, where “you know the drill.”
The 46-year-old Chicago native spoke to The Post Sunday from his temporary hotel room in Jerusalem after an early morning evacuation from his home in Kibbutz Zikim.
The mother of two described how they were barricaded in a safe room amid the constant sound of bullets and rocket fire. “You don’t know where they’re coming from,” he said of the fusillade.
Her brother-in-law, armed and wearing a bulletproof vest, shielded the family as Deborah’s two girls, ages 6 and 8, ran to the bathroom gasping for breath.
Deborah “attacked the girls one by one” about five to eight seconds after the siren went off to safety.
“But that’s also dangerous,” he said.
A photo taken from the beach in southern Israel kibbutz Zikim shows the skyline of Gaza City.AFP via Getty Images Kibbutz Zikim is located near Ashkelon and only 1 Kilometer from Gaza City and the Gaza Strip.Kibbutz Zikim/Facebook
During the day, the terrorists entered through the Zikim beach, infiltrated the Zikim military base before stealing IDF uniforms and tanks and attempting to break into the kibbutz before being neutralized by security.
“It has failed – my poor girls,” he said, trying to protect them from the carnage going on outside. “Unfortunately, this is not the kid’s first rodeo. “Normally they shouldn’t be playing ‘Tzeva Adom’ with My Little Pony,” he said of the “Color Red” song learned by all Israeli schoolchildren imitating rocket warnings.
The girls hurriedly packed suitcases full of toys during their Sunday morning evacuation with an Apache helicopter overhead. Deborah worries about lingering trauma.
A Palestinian man was arrested on the side of the road on the second day of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. dpa alliance/image via Getty Images
“They’re young, it’s fun to be in a hotel – but they’re not stupid. They see their friends from the community here and they know why,” he said.
For Deborah, who moved to Israel in 2011, danger has become a fact of life.
“I used to have a corporate credit card and take customers out for drinks. Now I live on the Gaza border,” he said. “I’m one of two Americans on the kibbutz – and there’s a reason for that. I’m the only one who’s crazy.”
Israeli soldiers take up positions in the Zikim area following a rocket attack from Gaza.dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
He assumed that the occasional rocket attack would most annoy the enemy’s nearby life.
“We have a war here at least every year,” says Deborah, recalling running to the safe room once an hour when she was pregnant with her older daughter during 2014’s Operation Protective Edge.
Living on the border means you’re always on the edge. “We were really traumatized,” he admitted. “If we hear the car room late, we freak out,” he said of his mostly quiet community.
People were evacuated from their homes in Kibbutz Zikim during the attack. AFP via Getty Images
However, you cannot run away from your fate. “You can say, ‘I can’t believe I live there.’ But you never know,” he said.
He did not know when the family would return.
“I’m kind of numb right now,” he said. “We’re talking about moving further north – it’s been discussed for the last year.”
But even moving from the Gaza border does not mean peace.
“Nothing in Israel is normal – ever,” he said. “There is always some level of vigilance – but I want more than eight seconds to run to shelter to feel safe. Have a minute [further away] sounds like a dream.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
