War between Israel and Hamas also gives North Holland family anxious days

Mike’s daughter and grandson are still in Israel

The worries have never been there before by Mike Bing from Heiloo so big. He lived in Israel for 14 years and a large part of his family, including his daughter and grandson, are currently still there.

“The situation escalated quickly,” he tells NH. “My immediate family was overrun. We spent the entire morning in panic trying to check if they were still alive. Very long, anxious hours passed.”

According to Mike, things have never been so intense. The now 66-year-old served in the Israeli army when he was 24. “In two wars, even. But I have never seen anything of this order of magnitude in my entire life. I have never experienced such a shock.”

Old feelings resurface for Annet

Annet was in the synagogue in her own Bussum on Saturday, not knowing what was happening at that moment in the beloved country where she lived for fourteen years.

The daughter and grandson of Bussumse Annet Betsalel are stuck in an Israeli bomb shelter. They are visiting family in Israel and were literally surprised by the attacks. Shortly after the first reports of the attacks, the air raid siren went off. They quickly entered the shelter with all the visitors. “The service continued as normal in the shelter. Very surreal, but nice that people supported each other in such a way at that moment,” says Annet.

The attacks also bring back unpleasant memories for Annet. She lived in Israel for fourteen years and experienced several attacks. “It’s all so visible. Full of pride and glory, images of bloodied, kidnapped or even dead people are posted on social media, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. That goes beyond your imagination. Then old feelings come back to the surface.” , she says.