In the early hours of Saturday the 7th, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched a terrorist attack by land, sea and air from the Gaza Strip on Israel which left more than 1200 dead. Among them there are seven Argentines, plus another fifteen compatriots who have disappeared so far. In this way, a new war began in the Middle East.
In the midst of the crisis that Israel is experiencing, NOTICIAS communicated with Argentines who are trapped by the war. “I came to live in Israel out of idealism, I was newly married and my husband and I decided to leave Argentina behind to plan our life here,” says Teresita from a shelter of which she prefers not to give the location.. For years he has lived in the so-called kibbutz, agricultural settlements, where the land is worked. His house is located 5 kilometers from where the terrorist attack began. “On Saturday morning we felt strong attacks and since we have very clear instructions, within a few seconds we were with my husband in the room that he serves as a bunker. Since he has Alzheimer’s, he didn’t notice anything, but we stayed there for a whole day until the government people came to take us to the shelter. The rockets did not reach where we live but they did. terrorists on foot, and they devastated everything. They killed 19 people, they beheaded babies, it was savagery. We were a beautiful community of 200 families and now I don’t know what’s left. Until I get back to my house, I won’t know if it was hit by a missile, burned down, or looted. The only thing I managed to grab was a bag with our documents, money, toothbrushes and some clothes.” Teresita concludes: “It doesn’t enter my head to return to Argentina. “I have my brother there, but at 70 years old, these types of attacks motivate me to stay here more than ever.”
More voices
Another Argentine who suffered the horror up close was Miriam, who lives in another kibbutz next to the Gaza Border. “I live 300 meters from what was the first attack, but since we are well trained, in less than ten seconds I was already locked in the safe room with my dog. He was surprising, no one imagined it. Thousands of terrorists entering all the towns to kill people in cold blood. They took old women, children, babies and kidnapped everything they could to make some kind of exchange. They stole everything they could, set houses on fire, broke cars. They destroyed everything. “Worse than what you can see in war movies.”
Now he is in a shelter where he has everything basic – food, water, electricity, gas, Internet connection and even television – and he describes what he experienced with his son. “She was at one of those electronic parties but luckily she escaped. He was hiding in a ditch and for thirteen hours he prayed that the Israeli army would arrive before the Hamas ones.”
Since the Gulf War, the Israeli State made it mandatory to build in new buildings a maximum security room for possible attacks. Call it a shelter, bunker or “panic room,” each new home must have a room that provides protection from the moment the alarm sounds until the State decides what to do.
David, a 31-year-old Argentine chef, has lived in the city of Ashkelon since 2014. To explain his location on the map, he does not do so in kilometers away, but in seconds from the possible sources of attack. “My girlfriend and my mother-in-law and I live 90 seconds from Gaza, which means that from the moment the alarm sounds until a supposed impact, we have that time to take refuge. Everything is planned, right now we have the backpack prepared with clothes, water, documents, money and fully charged cell phone batteries.”
Distress
Other Argentines who suffered the worst of this terrorist attack were the Argentines Gabriel Levinas and Roberto Moldavsky. The journalist said through his networks: “Tamar, Yonatan and their children Shakar, Arbel and Omer were murdered by Hamas in their own house, which they then set on fire. They erased the entire family. “They were my cousin’s grandchildren.” For his part, the comedian confessed: “They killed people that I knew and have friends kidnapped by Hamas. “It’s a terrible moment that makes me want to do my job, which is to make people laugh.”
Alejandro Roisentul is a 59-year-old Argentine doctor who lives in Safed. He tells NEWS: “The Hamas attack was always considered on the Army’s action table and it was a matter of time. But such cruelty was never contemplated. Nobody imagined that a group that talks about the liberation of its people could behave like ISIS. Every day we are discovering atrocities that are difficult to believe, such as beheaded babies, who are said to have been executed in the presence of their parents before they were also killed. If Hamas wanted the liberation of its people, the only thing it achieved was to bring hell to them.”
Roisentul adds: “I have my son in the Army because in Israel everyone who went through military service They remain in reserve until they turn 50 years old. And it makes me proud because I feel that we are all in the same, defending freedom and democracy. If there were no democracy in Israel, the Middle East would collapse. That is why we must prepare to do our best work and save the greatest number of lives.”
Elías is a 24-year-old Argentine who arrived two years ago Tel Aviv to directly enlist in the Army. To speak with NOTICIAS, he only asked that his last name not be made known. He says: “I came alone. I have my cousins and friends here but my only intention was to join the National Army. Beyond my love for Israel, I came because of a question of values. At first my parents had a hard time understanding it but in the end they supported me. Unfortunately this caught me in full rest due to an emergency operation that I had, but I can’t wait to join my unit. “I feel the need to be with my teammates.”
Elías recognizes that this present was not what he expected when he decided to emigrate. But he doesn’t regret anything either. “Leaving here would go against the principles I swore when I joined the Army. I talk to my family every day and they know that sooner or later we will meet again. When this is over, I’ll see if this is my place in the world. But to Argentina, with what is experienced there, I will not return.”
