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‘Yesterday was terrifying’: American woman who lives near Gaza border recalls Hamas attack, hiding in bathroom with kids
Deborah, a mother of two children, is now in a temporary hotel room in Jerusalem after she was evacuated from her home on Kibbutz Zikim
An American woman who lives about a mile from the Gaza border recalled how the Hamas attack affected them. “Yesterday was terrifying,” according to New York Post. “Terrorists running wild through the streets.” This was unlike a “regular war,” she added, where “you know the drill.”
The Chicago native, 46, a mother of two children, is now in a temporary hotel room in Jerusalem after she was evacuated from her home on Kibbutz Zikim. She recalled barricading in a room as bullets flew and constant rocket fire could be seen.
Deborah’s brother-in-law protected the family, clad in a bulletproof vest-clad and armed. Deborah fled to the bathroom with her two daughters, six and eight. She “snuck the girls out one by one,” she recalled. “But even that’s dangerous,” she said.
During the attack, Hamas’ militants infiltrated Israeli towns and launched missiles, reportedly resulting in the death of at least 250 people in Israel and 232 in Gaza. In a televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack “murderous.”
The terrorists infiltrated Zikim’s army base before entering through the Zikim beach. They earlier stole DF uniforms and tanks, and tried to penetrate the kibbutz. However, they were neutralized by security.
‘If we hear a car vroom by, we’re freaked out’
“It’s f–ked up – my poor girls,” Deborah said. “Sadly, this isn’t the kids’ first rodeo. Their normal should not be playing ‘Tzeva Adom’ with My Little Pony.”
“They’re little, it’s exciting to be in a hotel – but they’re not stupid. They see their friends from the community here and they know why,” she added.
Deborah moved to Israel in 2011. Danger has become normal for her ever since. “I used to have a corporate credit card and take clients out for drinks. Now I live on the Gaza border,” she said. “I’m one of two Americans on the kibbutz – and there are reasons for that. I’m the only crazy one.”
“We have a war here at least every year,” she said, adding that they are traumatised. “If we hear a car vroom by, we’re freaked out,” she said.
Deborah said it is unclear when they will return. “I’m just kind of numb now,” she said. “We’re talking about moving further north – it’s been on the table for the last year.”
Moving away from the Gaza border, however, does not make things peaceful. “Nothing in Israel is normal – ever,” she said. “There’s always some level of alert – but I’d like more than eight seconds’ time to run to a shelter to feel safe. Having a minute [further away] sounds like a dream.”
