British-Israeli man describes terrifying ordeal as Hamas militants stormed home

Published

2 years ago

October 8, 2023

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A British-Israeli citizen and his wife have told of their 12 hour ordeal locked in a bomb-proof safe room as Hamas militants set their house on fire and gunfights erupted around them.

At times, they were just inches from the militants and were forced to stay put as Hamas fighters engaged Israeli Defence Force (IDF) troops for hours with no water and no food, stuck in the pyjamas they were wearing when they woke up.

Ben, who did not wish to give his second name, shared his terrifying ordeal with Sky News from an evacuation point near the Dead Sea.

Originally from Worcestershire, Ben and his wife have lived in a kibbutz named Be’eri, located around 5km from the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, for the past 26 years.

The 52-year-old moved there after meeting his wife-to-be while visiting his brother, who had travelled to Israel as a volunteer.

Ben woke up to sounds of rockets being fired, something he said was “not unusual”, and was met outside by his neighbours, who – like him – were in their pyjamas.

“We assumed it would be over soon, but it wasn’t,” he said.

He watched the Iron Dome system intercept a number of rockets, before receiving a text message telling all those in the area to lock themselves in their safe rooms.

The safe room, like many in the area, is a small 5x4sqm room with gas and blast-proofing on the door, which cannot be opened from outside when shut.

There is a small window, which is reinforced with blast-proof steel, that can be opened to the outside.

The room also doubles up as a bedroom for his son when he stays over.

He expected to receive an all-clear message within half an hour, but instead began hearing Arabic voices in the distance gradually approaching his house.

‘They were a few centimetres away from me’

Ben estimates 30 Hamas militants were in his kibbutz, and the speed and scale of the attack took the neighbourhood by surprise.

“We were so underprepared for such an unprecedented attack, and we didn’t have water, food, anything [in the safe room]” he said.

Ben and his wife were laying silent on the floor of the room when they heard a commotion outside his house and more shouting – before hearing a “tremendous boom” as his front door was knocked in.

“They were a few centimetres, a few inches away from me as I’m holding the door,” he said.

“I was cold, I was sweating profusely within an instant on such a high level of alert.”

Despite their close proximity, the militants didn’t try to enter the safe room, but Ben heard them smashing the house outside.

‘It was so unbelievably hot’

He presumes the TV and windows were broken, as crashing and banging was heard for some time before the attackers appeared to leave the house.

“Very soon afterwards, we could hear crackling and we could begin to smell smoke,” he said.

Becoming emotional, he said “we understood that our home was on fire”.

Ben and his wife listened as their house fell apart around them, with the roof caving in and more windows shattering from the heat.

The door, which is built to prevent a gas attack, had its seal melted away – allowing thick smoke to enter the safe room.

“It was so hot, it was so unbelievably hot,” Ben said, “I don’t know how we didn’t pass out.”

He described how the pair of them lay on the floor with bedsheets from their son’s bed covering their mouths to block out the smoke.

“We managed to breathe every now and again through a crack in our blinds,” he said.

After hours in what he called “hell”, Ben and his wife heard Israeli forces arrive and engage the Hamas fighters.

Despite the arrival of friendly troops, there would be no respite from the heat and the smoke for Ben and his wife for another six hours, while they listened to gunfire.

“For another six hours, we listened to gunfights all around us,” he said.

“I think there was a gunman on our roof, as the shots sounded so close,”

The pair were trapped, with no choice but to stay put.

Through the crack in the blinds of the safe room, they watched a neighbour’s house get set alight.

“We saw it burst into flames,” Ben said, explaining that the fire quickly spread to other houses in the neighbourhood.

He doesn’t know the fate of many of his neighbours, but he saw a massive explosion emanate from the safe room of another house nearby.

After hours of fighting, Ben said he and his wife took heart after “the shouting turned from Arabic to Hebrew”, and IDF soldiers began going house to house in the neighbourhood evacuating survivors of the attack.

Soldiers were able to pull the pair through the window of the safe room once opened by Ben, as the house on the other side of door was presumably too unstable to escape through given the fire damage.

They were rushed into the back of a 4×4 and driven away under the cover of darkness, unable to survey the damage to their home or even grab any spare clothes.

‘When on earth are we going to be safe?’

Ben and his wife had entered the safe room at around 7am and emerged more than 12 hours later, sweat-drenched, dehydrated and still in the pyjamas they wore when they entered.

When they were dropped off at an extraction point in a car park, Ben said they were given some food and water.

Becoming emotional again, Ben said a soldier offered to give him a pair of socks, as he noticed he was walking around barefoot on the gravel of the car park.

“It was an act of kindness – I won’t forget it, no matter how small it was.”

But they weren’t out of the woods yet.

Waiting in the car park for over an hour, Ben said a shout rang out that Hamas militants were nearby, which was quickly followed by the sound of gunshots and small puffs of dust popping up on the ground around him.

“I thought, ‘when on earth are we going to be safe?’,” he said.

When the fighting ceased, he and other survivors were loaded onto an open-top truck and taken to a nearby sports stadium, before they were moved on to an area near the Dead Sea and put up in hotels.

When asked what he will do now, Ben said he didn’t know if he could stay in the country after the ordeal, given the presumed damage to his home and the wider kibbutz.

“A big part of me wants to leave Israel, even though we’ve lived here for 26 years.”

“It’s our home,” he said, “and all that’s gone”.

World

Putin humiliated by ‘Russia’s Pearl Harbor’ – as Kyiv goes for broke

Published

3 hours ago

June 2, 2025

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Putin humiliated by 'Russia's Pearl Harbor' - as Kyiv goes for broke

An audacious Ukrainian drone attack against multiple airbases across Russia is a humiliating security breach for Vladimir Putin that will doubtless trigger a furious response.

Pro-Kremlin bloggers have described the drone assault – which Ukrainian security sources said hit more than 40 Russian warplanes – as “Russia’s Pearl Harbor” in reference to the Japanese attack against the US in 1941 that prompted Washington to enter the Second World War.

Ukraine war latest: Russia accuses Kyiv of ‘terrorist attack’

The Ukrainian operation – which used small drones smuggled into Russia, hidden in mobile sheds and launched off the back of trucks – also demonstrated how technology and imagination have transformed the battlefield, enabling Ukraine to seriously hurt its far more powerful opponent.

Moscow will have to retaliate, with speculation already appearing online about whether President Putin will again threaten the use of nuclear weapons.

“We hope that the response will be the same as the US response to the attack on their Pearl Harbor or even harsher,” military blogger Roman Alekhin wrote on his Telegram channel.

Codenamed ‘Spider’s Web’, the mission on Sunday was the culmination of one and a half years of planning, according to a security source.

In that time, Ukraine’s secret service smuggled first-person view (FPV) drones into Russia, sources with knowledge of the operation said.

Flat-pack, garden-office style sheds were also secretly transported into the country.

The oblong sheds were then built and drones were hidden inside, before the containers were put on the back of trucks and driven to within range of their respective targets.

At a chosen time, doors on the roofs of the huts were opened remotely and the drones were flown out. Each was armed with a bomb that was flown into the airfields, with videos released by the security service that purportedly showed them blasting into Russian aircraft.

Among the targets were Tu-95 and Tu-22 bomber aircraft that can launch cruise missiles, according to the Ukrainian side. An A-50 airborne early warning aircraft was also allegedly hit. This is a valuable platform that is used to command and control operations.

The use of such simple technology to destroy multi-million-pound aircraft will be watched with concern by governments around the world.

Suddenly, every single military base, airfield and warship will appear that little bit more vulnerable if any truck nearby could be loaded with killer drones.

The most immediate focus, though, will be on how Mr Putin responds.

Previous attacks by Ukraine inside Russia have triggered retaliatory strikes and increasingly threatening rhetoric from the Kremlin.

But this latest operation is one of the biggest and most significant, and comes on the eve of a new round of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv that are meant to take place in Turkey. It is not clear if that will still happen.

US President Donald Trump has been pushing for the two sides to make peace but Russia has only escalated its war.

Ukraine clearly felt it had nothing to lose but to also go on the attack.

World

Eight injured in petrol bomb and ‘flamethrower’ attack at rally for Hamas-held hostages in Colorado

Published

3 hours ago

June 2, 2025

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Eight injured in petrol bomb and 'flamethrower' attack at rally for Hamas-held hostages in Colorado

Eight people have been injured at a US rally for Israeli hostages after they were attacked by a man with a makeshift flamethrower and petrol bombs.

A group of people in Boulder, Colorado, were holding a regular demonstration to raise awareness of Hamas-held hostages in Gaza when they were allegedly targeted by a man who shouted “Free Palestine” on Sunday. The suspect was arrested at the scene.

Four women and four men aged between 52 and 88 were injured and transported to hospitals, Boulder police said.

The force said the injuries ranged from “very serious” to “more minor”.

Some of the victims were airlifted to hospital.

Authorities had earlier put the count of the injured at six and said at least one of them was in a critical condition.

The FBI says the attack was a targeted “act of terrorism” and named the suspect as 45-year-old Mohamed Soliman from El Paso County, Colorado.

He was also taken to hospital after the alleged attack.

Eyewitnesses said the suspect threw Molotov cocktails, an improvised bomb made from a bottle filled with petrol and stuffed with a piece of cloth to use as a fuse, into people attending the demonstration.

He also used a “makeshift flamethrower” during the attack, according to Mark Michalek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Denver field office.

Two senior law enforcement officials told Sky News’ US partner network that Soliman is an Egyptian national who seemingly acted alone. They said he has no previous significant contact with law enforcement.

The White House described the suspect as an “illegal alien” who had received a work permit under the Biden administration despite overstaying a tourist visa.

A large part of downtown Boulder was cordoned off as sniffer dogs and the bomb squad searched for potential devices.

Police chief Steve Redfearn said the attack happened around 1.26pm on Sunday and that initial reports were that “people were being set on fire”.

“When we arrived we encountered multiple victims that were injured, with injuries consistent with burns,” Mr Redfearn told the media.

The police chief also said he did not believe anyone else was involved.

“We’re fairly confident we have the lone suspect in custody,” he said.

Boulder’s police chief said the attack happened as a “group of pro-Israel people” were peacefully demonstrating.

The walk is held regularly by a volunteer group called Run For Their Lives, which aims to raise awareness of the hostages who remain in Gaza.

Video from the scene showed a bare-chested man shouting and clutching two bottles after the attack.

Other footage showed him being held down and arrested by police as people doused one of the victims with water.

Nearby there appears to be a large black burn mark on the ground.

Brooke Coffman, a 19-year-old student, described seeing four women on the ground with burns on their legs. She said one appeared badly burned on most of her body and had been wrapped in a flag.

She described seeing a man whom she presumed to be the attacker standing in the courtyard shirtless, holding a glass
bottle of clear liquid and shouting.

“Everybody is yelling, ‘get water, get water,'” Ms Coffman said.

Lady on fire ‘from head to toe’

Another eyewitness, who did not give his name, said: “It was very strange to just hear a crash on the ground of a bottle breaking and then it sounded like a boom and then people started yelling and screaming.

“But I saw fire, I saw people screaming and crying and tripping and I saw the attacker – he had three Molotov cocktails.

“One of them he threw inside a group and one lady lit on fire from head to toe and then the other four people were also injured in the fire, but not as bad as the first one.”

The eyewitness continued: “The attacker came out from the bushes and the trees… he threw another cocktail, and on the second one he lit himself on fire – I imagine accidentally.

“He seemed to have a bullet proof vest on, or some kind of vest, and then a shirt underneath it.

“And after he lit himself on fire he took off the vest and the shirt and he was shirtless.

“But he still had his Molotov cocktails in his hands ready to use them… ready to throw them and explode them on people.”

Lynn Segal, another eyewitness, said: “These shoots of fire, linear, about 20 feet long, spears of fire, two of them at least, came across right into the group, about 15 feet from me.”

The 72-year-old said two neighbours of hers, a husband and wife in their 80s, were at the demonstration. She added that the wife was one of the victims and appeared to be the most seriously injured.

“They’re both elders in their 80s, and you can’t take something like this assault to your body as easily as someone younger.”

Ms Segal, who was wearing a “Free Palestine” T-shirt, said she watches the demonstrations to “try and listen” to what the volunteers are “talking about” because she is concerned about the hostages.

She added that she is concerned the attack will “divide this community”.

Another eyewitness told MSNBC that he saw the suspect “lighting people on fire while spraying gasoline on them”.

Brian, who is himself Jewish and asked that his last name not be made public, added that he saw victims “having their skin melt off their bodies”.

A statement from Boulder’s Jewish community said “an incendiary device was thrown at walkers at the Run for Their Lives walk on Pearl Street as they were raising awareness for the hostages still held in Gaza”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement this morning: “This attack was aimed against peaceful people who wished to express their solidarity with the hostages held by Hamas, simply because they were Jews.

“I trust the United States authorities to prosecute the cold blood perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law and do everything possible to prevent future attacks against innocent civilians.

“The antisemitic attacks around the world are a direct result of blood libels against the Jewish state and people, and this must be stopped.”

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a prominent Jewish Democrat , said it was an antisemitic attack.

“This is horrifying, and this cannot continue. We must stand up to antisemitism,” he said on X.

Boulder is a university city of about 105,000 people on the northwest edge of Denver, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

The attack follows the arrest of a Chicago-born man in the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington DC two weeks ago.

Tensions are simmering in the US over Israel’s war in Gaza.

There has been an increase in antisemitic hate crime, as well as moves by some supporters of Israel to brand pro-Palestinian protests as antisemitic.

President Trump’s administration has detained protesters without charge and pulled funding from elite universities that have permitted such demonstrations.

World

Trump-inspired candidate Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election

Published

3 hours ago

June 2, 2025

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Trump-inspired candidate Karol Nawrocki wins Poland's presidential election

Conservative historian Karol Nawrocki, who draws inspiration from Donald Trump, has won Poland’s presidential election.

Mr Nawrocki secured 50.89% of votes while his opponent, Liberal pro-EU candidate Rafal Trzaskowski, took 49.11%.

Earlier, an exit poll called the result the other way around – with both men declaring victory.

Mr Nawrocki had positioned himself as a defender of traditional Polish values, aligning himself with US conservatives, including Mr Trump, and showing scepticism towards the EU.

Meanwhile, Mr Trzaskowski, 53, had promised to ease abortion restrictions, introduce civil partnerships for LGBT couples and promote constructive ties with European partners.

The vote has been closely watched in neighbouring Ukraine as well as in Russia, the European Union and the United States – with the election being framed as Poland choosing between more liberal norms or a more nationalist path.

This runoff follows a tightly-contested first round of voting in May, which saw Mr Trzaskowski win just over 31% and Mr Nawrocki nearly 30%, eliminating 11 other candidates.

Mr Nawrocki won the vote despite discussions about his past dominating the last days of the campaign – from questions over his acquisition of a flat from a pensioner to an admission that he took part in orchestrated brawls.

“Everything was on a knife edge,” said 32-year-old IT specialist Patryk Marek. “Feelings are for sure mixed for this moment. But how small this margin was, it tells us how divided we are almost in half as voters.”

Poland’s new president will have significant influence over whether the country’s centrist government can fulfil its agenda, given the presidential power to veto laws.

Led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the government had struggled to pass legislation with Poland’s previous president in power and may find the same is true once Mr Nawrocki is sworn in.

Like his predecessor, Mr Nawrocki is expected to block any attempts by the government to liberalise abortion or reform the judiciary.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was convinced the EU could continue its “very good cooperation” with Poland.

“We are all stronger together in our community of peace, democracy, and values. So let us work to ensure the security and prosperity of our common home,” she said.

There has been some discussion about whether a win for Mr Nawrocki could lead to fresh elections in Poland.

Jacek Sasin, a politician for the opposition Law and Justice party, said: “The referendum on the dismissal of the Tusk government has been won.”