Residents of Israel spoke about the situation in cities after the Hamas attack.
Photo: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS
Komsomolskaya Pravda journalists asked Israeli residents they know to tell them what is happening in the country’s cities after the unprecedented attack by Hamas and Israel’s declaration of war. In some cases, the names of respondents have been changed at their request.
Familiar and unknown
Nathan Rotenberg: In the city of Harish, where I live, the situation is calm, the missiles do not and will not reach here. Harish is surrounded by settlements where Israeli Arabs live, and the Arabs do not shoot at their own. As for groceries, it is true that people have bought everything in supermarkets. The army said there was not enough food or equipment for soldiers. Therefore, the Jews, especially the religious ones, at the call of the rabbis, rushed to the stores to buy everything they had for the army. This is not a story in which people sweep everything from the shelves in reserve, but a story in which people buy everything to feed the soldiers. Where did the shortage in the army come from? Hundreds of thousands of people were summoned in two days. This is the largest mobilization since the founding of the State of Israel; There has never been anything like it. Of course, this entailed all kinds of difficulties.
Marina Weiss: About the mass exodus from the country, this is all nonsense. And now it’s hard to fly anywhere; European airlines have temporarily stopped flying to Israel. Foreign tourists, yes, leave. There Bruno Mars has flown away. The American singer is famous, his concert was going to take place in Israel, but it was cancelled. Who is to blame for everything that is happening? This is what all kinds of analysts are doing now; the rest focuses on something else: how to end the war and win. I live in Netanya, it seems quiet here, but the streets are almost empty.
Hana Markovic: I am 67 years old, from Jerusalem. What am I doing? I’m crying… Look at the lists and photographs of the dead: there are many young people. And by their faces and surnames: both “Russian” Jews and Georgians, mountaineers, Ashkenazim, Sephardim… My grandson arrived from Romania the day before yesterday, he is studying there to be a veterinarian, it is cheaper there. I have not received a call, but I intend to achieve mobilization. He had already served in combat units before enlisting. In Israel, such a decision – the decision to return – is not considered heroic, it is the norm.
News from the front
Yigal Liber: My wife and I are now in a bomb shelter. In Sderot (this is our city, it is a few kilometers from Gaza) so far everything is scary: bombs, sirens, they say that there are still terrorists in the city. We are afraid? I am not afraid for myself, I am afraid for my children, for my grandchildren: my son-in-law has mobilized, my oldest grandson is waiting for a call. I’m also worried about my friends and family: the country is small, but there are already so many victims that everyone knows someone who died, was captured, or is listed as missing. Who do we blame: the Palestinians, the Arabs, the Iranians, the Russians? Yes, we blame ourselves: for years the country’s Jews have not been able to reach an agreement, they went to the elections as if they were going to work, for six months there was one government, for six months there was another. ..
Boris: I’m not really supposed to talk to the press. Where I am now? I can’t say either. In the army. Where are you from? From Russia, brought to Israel as a teenager. Yes, I have Russian citizenship. But in Israel almost everyone has another passport: British, American, Moldovan, Portuguese. This is a formality. Let me tell you that none of my friends who have second citizenship left. And for those who have recently arrived from Russia, almost no one will be recruited: boys and girls are recruited into the Israeli army only if they were born here or arrived very young; Those who served in the army of another state are also not accepted.
and on the other side
Marina Ostashkovski: I haven’t heard from my sister for several days: she is married to a Palestinian and has lived in Gaza for twelve years. I read that they seem to be planning an evacuation of the sector. And I’m in Beersheba, this is the south of Israel. We live in some way: children do not go to school yet, public transport does not work or rarely works, but there is everything in stores. The worst thing is that I call my parents in Kharkov: our siren sounds, and there it sounds… God grant us all peace.
All flights to Israel are full
While Bulgaria, Hungary and other countries announced the evacuation of their citizens from Israel, the Israeli government also launched evacuation flights, but in the opposite direction: thousands of the country’s citizens decided at this difficult time to return home to be with their people. All tickets to Tel Aviv from New York and Los Angeles have been sold out, special flights will take those who are now in Prague and Athens, the writer Dina Rubina interrupted her performances and has already returned to Israel from the United States. And Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square, which in recent months has become the scene of public clashes between supporters and opponents of the current government’s actions, has become a 24-hour collection point for items and food for military personnel and reservists.
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