Residents in the Gaza area took to the public airwaves – including by calling into live broadcasts on television and radio – to call for help as terrorists went on a killing spree following the Hamas onslaught that began early Saturday.
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Video: People taking cover, smoke billows as Gaza rockets pound Israel / Credit: Reuters
A resident of Kibbutz recounts a real massacre at the location. In a conversation with Israel Hayom, she describes what was happening: "People are begging for help here. We see the most harrowing scenes imaginable. People are crying that they are trying to open the safe rooms, and also that they are setting our houses on fire simultaneously with gunfire and terror everywhere."
Anna, a resident of the kibbutz said: "My children were injured by gunfire from terrorists on a passing vehicle near the kibbutz. They sent us for medical treatment, and on the way, we saw wounded and dead. The kibbutz is under siege, the army has not yet arrived, and the preparedness class is unable to cope. At any moment, they report terrorists seen in the area. In all my years in the Gaza periphery, I have never seen anything like this."
Dvir Efrat, 21, from Kibbutz Bari, said: "We have terrorists roaming between the neighborhoods causing chaos. The preparedness class is on alert, and we hear gunfire of all kinds. We are really scared. I don't understand the situation; there are already several casualties. I'm with my partner in the safe room."
She added: "The most important thing is to send forces to the area. Our preparedness class is here, but only two guys in their 40s know what to do. We need to send forces, police, the army. The kibbutz has a nearby army base, they should send people who can handle the situation."
Ella, a resident of another kibbutz, told Channel 12 News that she identified her father in pictures that came from Telegram: "I need help finding my father. I'm 23 years old, and I saw a picture on Telegram, and I think they kidnapped him to the Gaza Strip. He tried to protect them. He wrote to me that they entered their home and kidnapped them, and I didn't know what to do. I don't know where my mom and grandma are. I have no idea. No one is answering."
She also mentioned that she is in her apartment in the shelter room. "There are sirens and knocking on the door all the time. I'm here with my boyfriend. No one is doing anything. I hear sirens all the time. He wrote to me that they were at someone's house for about an hour, they entered the shelter, and then I saw a picture of him in Gaza. My mother and grandmother are not responding."
These are troubling accounts of the situation in the Gaza periphery, with residents pleading for assistance and describing the chaos and danger they are facing.
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