A resident of the Gaza border-adjacent Israeli communities testified at the United Nations Security Council during a Wednesday hearing.
Adele Raemer, a publicist living in Kibbutz Nirim, less than a mile from the Israel-Gaza border, addressed the Security Council via a video-link from the UN offices in Tel Aviv.
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Her testimony revolved around the experience of the border communities during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, launched after some 250 rockets were launched over the border from Gaza in the course of three weeks.
Addressing the council – the UN's most powerful body, Raemer asked, "Have you ever had to run for your life? When I hear the Color Red [early warning system] for incoming rockets, I know that I have between 5-10 seconds to get to someplace safe – regardless of where I am in my home. If I'm out, I either throw myself down next to a wall, or just lie down wherever I am, cover my head and hope that whatever falls doesn't fall too close."
During the 11 rounds of rocket fire Israel has experienced in 2019, "There were numerous alerts every single day," she continued. "Some 1,800 rockets were launched at our communities during this period. What would any of you do if this number of projectiles was launched over your border?"
Raemer added that during the fighting in 2014, a rocket fired from Gaza hit her home. She was saved only because she sought refuge in her home's safe room.
She further called Hamas' grid of terror tunnels "sinister and frightening, built with a complex infrastructure for communications and electricity that was developed solely for purposes of death. Can you imagine how our children feel when they know that terrorists could come bursting through a tunnel under our community at any time? The rate of people seeking psychological help in our region has risen 231% in the past five years ... over half have been children."
Raemer urged the council to act against Hamas, saying, "We all need to be able to raise the next generation to respect our neighbors – not fear them."
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said, "There is an entire generation that has never known a life where they don't need to be aware at all times of where the closest bomb shelter is. An entire generation that suffers from trauma; from fear that the noise they hear at night is of a terror tunnel being dug under their bed."
Addressing those living in Gaza, Danon said, "It is indeed hard to be a civilian in the Gaza Strip. In fact, it is hard to be a civilian in all places where the Iranian regime's tentacles of terror have reached."
US Ambassador Kelly Craft noted, "Far too often we talk about this issue without talking about the human impact from Gaza. This council seems unwilling or unable to see the reality that Israelis live in constant fear of attack. In place, the council tolerates an endless string of condemnations of Israel. I have said before and will say again today, Israel has no better friend than Kelly Craft.
"While condemnations have become very commonplace, what is truly remarkable is the resilience of the Israeli people. Israel is a beacon of light to the world; is it to be condemned? No, it is to be emulated. It is their spirit of resilience that keeps alive the hope for a solution."
