New Delhi: When the siren went off at 6.30 am Saturday, Sharon Alderon and her family of five — residents of southern Israel’s kibbutz Sufa, close to Gaza — rushed to take cover in a safe room.
It was the start of the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ offensive against Israel, and the hours that ensued were packed with anxiety.
Speaking to ThePrint from Israel, Alderon said she heard gunshots and explosions, followed by the “terrorists” shouting out that “they were here to kill us”.
“They were shooting at our house, knocking on our doors and windows, and killed anyone who was outside,” said Alderon.
The family spent 24 hours in the safe house — Israeli law mandates that all homes have bomb shelters — without food, water, washroom utilities, and in complete silence.
“If the terrorist outside the window finds out that you and your family are in there, they will kill you. They will kill your children, your dog and almost anyone,” she said.
The unprecedented Hamas attack saw the Palestinian militant group, which controls Gaza, pummel Israel with rockets while fighters on the ground breached the border fence and attacked Israeli civilians, also taking dozens captive.
Israel declared war and struck back with airstrikes on its own. It has announced a complete blockade of Gaza, including for food and water, and said its response will “change the Middle East”.
According to news agency Associated Press, over 1,100 people have been killed and thousands wounded on both sides since the attack by Hamas.
‘They came to kill and destroy’
Taking shelter in the safehouse saved Alderon, but the ordeal is far from over. Her brother-in-law Ofer and his two children, Sahar (16) and Erez (12), remain missing, feared captured by Hamas.
“They were in the safe room when the terrorists [Hamas] got into their house. They felt that they were going to get them and they escaped through the window and hid in the bushes,” said Alderon.
Ofer and his children then dropped a message to their close ones on their whereabouts, adding that “the terrorists are close”.
Alderon and her family last heard from them at 8.30 am on 7 October, until she spotted Erez in a video posted by Hamas, she said.
“A few hours ago, these kids were playing video games and now we do not know what happened to him. That (video) was the only sign of his life,” said Alderon.
Ofer’s family resides in kibbutz Nir Oz — kibbutz is a communal settlement in Israel — which is close to the Gaza strip.
For people like Alderon, questions about whether the Hamas’ attack was a security failure hold little value. Her entire focus lies on thinking about what her missing family members might be going through.
“They took old people, men and a lot of children. Hundreds of families are just gone, and we do not know anything about them, even whether they are alive,” she said.
The Hamas operatives, she added, “came to Israel with the “motive to kill and destroy”. They left her with no home to go back to, while hundreds of people simply disappeared.
“They [Hamas] were throwing bombs inside homes where they knew families were inside. Our friend was burnt alive. We just want it to end, and we want our family back,” she said. “I do not know how to do it, but something has to be done to bring them back home.”
The future, she said, is uncertain as can be.
“Just think about what we have been through and we still do not know what is going to happen next,” she said. “I have no home, I have my clothes on me and that is it.”
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
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