An Israeli father has told of the terrifying moment his teenage son phoned to tell him that terrorists had opened fire on him while riding a bicycle – when his eldest son called to say Hamas gunmen were trying to break into his shelter.
Erez Cohen’s nightmare scenario unfolded at his home in Or HaNer, a kibbutz near Sderot, when his 15-year-old son Itay called early Saturday to deliver a sad message.
“It’s half past six in the morning. We were at home in Or HaNer when we heard ‘Tzeva Adom,’” a red alert indicating a rocket attack,” Cohen told Israeli media outlet Mako.
“We are used to volleys, but this volley is different. Half an hour before, Itay had gone cycling in the Kfar Gaza area with Avi Shahar, our neighbor from the kibbutz, and with his son Zohar,” he said.
“I called him and he reassured me. He said they heard sirens and they were sheltering at the bus station,” Cohen continued, adding that his son said he and others put bikes in their cars to go home.
Itay Cohen 15, suffered serious eye injuries when terrorists opened fire on him. Cohen family
About 15 minutes later, Cohen said, Itay called again to say soldiers were shooting at them.
“I heard him yell, ‘Why did you shoot us?’ And then they realized that they were actually terrorists,” he told the outlet.
Avi was hit in the hand and Itay was hit in the eye by broken glass as the terrorists sprayed their vehicle with bullets.
“Somehow they managed to escape and reach a gas station in Kfar Gaza,” Cohen said. “I heard screams. I tried to send help but to no avail. I called the police and they told me they sent someone but no one came.”
Dr. Anat Engel, CEO of Wolfson Hospital (2nd from left) joins Rinat, Erez and Itay CohenWolfson Medical Center
At the same time, Cohen’s 23-year-old son Yam called from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, where he was hiding with his girlfriend, and told him that they were under attack by terrorists and that the IDF was nowhere to be seen.
“He said that they tried to break into his shelter, but he held on and fought back. They tried to come in like that five times, and each time he grabbed hold and fought bravely,” Cohen told Wako.
“All this time, Yam was also on the phone and on WhatsApp with me,” he said. “It’s terrifying because you know that terrorists surround the area. It’s an unimaginable situation as a parent,” he continued.
“Yam is truly a hero. If they had managed to get in, he would have been dead or a prisoner in Gaza,” the father said, adding that Israeli soldiers only arrived at the scene a few hours later.
Itay, Yam, Rinat and Erez Cohen in an undated photo. The Cohen family
Meanwhile, someone in a private car rescued Itay and his friends and took them to Soroka Hospital while Cohen and his wife, Rinat, remained stranded in their home as the invading terrorists also opened fire on them.
“At one point I got a call from Soroka asking me for permission to operate on his eye,” he said, adding that Itay was later transferred to the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon.
“We were lucky that the two children were miraculously saved. We all go through difficult traumas, but on the other hand, everyone is alive and that’s the glass half full. Every parent’s nightmare is to receive such a call from their child. There are no words to describe the situation and the feeling,” he said.
His wife said it took the couple a long time to recover from the trauma and sleep well.
“I heard from residents who went through complete hell that they had nowhere to go back to. Our story ends with a miracle and it is important for us to publish it to give strength to the people of Israel, there is a miracle and we will win,” Rinat told the outlet.
“We will not surrender to Hamas and to psychological warfare. We are strong and united,” he added.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
