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

Published

2 years ago

October 9, 2023

admin

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.

Israel-Hamas War: Watch special programme on Sky News tonight at 9pm

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 the 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

Zelenskyy accuses US envoy Witkoff of ‘spreading Russian narratives’ – as he says minerals deal getting closer

Published

5 hours ago

April 17, 2025

admin

Zelenskyy accuses US envoy Witkoff of 'spreading Russian narratives' - as he says minerals deal getting closer

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused US envoy Steve Witkoff of “spreading Russian narratives” about the Ukraine war – as he said a much-anticipated minerals deal was moving closer.

His comments came as Mr Witkoff was in Paris for talks with Ukrainian and European officials.

The diplomat met Vladimir Putin last week and later told Fox News he had held “compelling” discussions with the Russian leader.

“This peace deal is about these so-called five territories, but there’s so much more to it,” he said.

He appeared to be referencing occupied Crimea and the four regions annexed in sham referendums in 2022: Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia.

The votes were widely condemned and dismissed by the West – and Russia still does not fully control these regions – but Mr Witkoff has been accused of parroting Moscow’s line.

Mr Zelenskyy, speaking at a news conference, also said a “memorandum of intent” on a minerals deal with the US could be signed online on Thursday.

However, speaking at the White House later – where he was hosting the Italian prime minister, US President Donald Trump said it was likely to be next week.

The deal was expected to be done weeks ago but was derailed by the Ukrainian leader’s falling out at the White House.

President Trump wants to share in profits from Ukraine’s natural resources in what he says is repayment for military aid. It’s hoped America having a stake in the country could also help maintain any truce.

In his media conference, Mr Zelenskyy also claimed he had evidence of China helping Russia with artillery.

“We believe that Chinese representatives are engaged in the production of some weapons on the territory of Russia,” the Ukrainian leader said.

He did not specify whether he meant artillery systems or shells.

It comes after Ukraine said recently that it had captured two Chinese citizens fighting in the east of the country.

US efforts to broker a ceasefire have so far failed to provide a breakthrough, with critics accusing Russia of stalling and not really wanting peace.

President Trump was asked on Thursday how long Mr Putin had to respond to his ceasefire proposal before facing either tariffs or more sanctions.

“We’re going to be hearing from them this week, very shortly, actually,” he told reporters.

He also said that while he does not hold President Zelenskyy responsible for the war, he is “not a big fan”.

“I’m not happy with him, and I’m not happy with anybody involved,” he said.

“I’m not blaming him, but what I am saying is that I wouldn’t say he’s done the greatest job. Okay? I’m not a big fan.”

Three killed in drone attack

US envoy Mr Witkoff was joined in Paris earlier by US secretary of state Marco Rubio.

The men held talks with French, British and German representatives – the so-called “coalition of the willing” who could provide security guarantees in the event of a ceasefire.

Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff, foreign minister and defence minister were also there and a follow-up is scheduled for next week in London.

While a total ceasefire has proved elusive, a 30-day moratorium on striking energy infrastructure targets was previously agreed.

However, both sides have accused each other of breaking the agreement.

Russian government spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed on Thursday that Ukraine had breached it 80 times.

President Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said Russian energy attacks had decreased but that it was attacking civilian infrastructures instead.

Three people, including a child, were killed overnight in a drone attack on Ukraine’s southeastern city of Dnipro, according to officials, with 30 wounded.

Local authorities said widespread damage was caused to civilian infrastructure, including an educational institution, residential buildings, a gym and a dormitory.

It comes after at least 35 people died in a Russian missile strike on Sumy at the weekend.

World

White House rages at ‘appalling’ attempt to return wrongly deported man from El Salvador

Published

24 hours ago

April 17, 2025

admin

White House rages at 'appalling' attempt to return wrongly deported man from El Salvador

The White House has hit out at an “appalling” attempt by a Democratic senator to return a father wrongly deported to El Salvador.

Chris Van Hollen arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday to speak to the country’s leaders about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was removed from the US by the Trump administration in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation.

Washington acknowledged Mr Garcia was deported due to an “administrative error”.

The US Supreme Court has called on the administration to facilitate his return, upholding a court order by Judge Paula Xinis, but Trump officials have claimed Mr Garcia has ties to the MS-13 gang.

Mr Garcia’s lawyers have argued there is no evidence of this.

Speaking about Mr Van Hollen’s trip to El Salvador, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the Democrats “still refuse to accept the will of the American people”.

She alleged Mr Garcia was an “illegal alien MS-13 terrorist” and claimed his wife petitioned for court protection against him after alleged incidents of domestic violence.

After outlining the allegations against Mr Garcia, she went on: “All of that is not enough to stop the Democrat Party from their lies.

“The number one issue they are focused on right now is bringing back this illegal alien terrorist to America.

“It’s appalling and sad that Senator Van Hollen and the Democrats are plotting his trip to El Salvador today, are incapable of having any shred of common sense or empathy for their own constituents and our citizens.”

After making a statement, Ms Leavitt introduced Patty Morin, who described graphic details of her daughter’s murder by an immigrant from El Salvador.

Rachel Morin was raped and murdered by Victor Martinez-Hernandez along a popular hiking trail northeast of Baltimore.

Afterwards, Ms Leavitt left without taking any questions from reporters.

Senator travels to El Salvador

Mr Van Hollen met with the El Salvador vice president during his trip to the Central American country.

But he did not meet with President Nayib Bukele, who publicly met with Donald Trump in the Oval Office this week, nor did he meet Mr Garcia himself.

In a post on X, he said he would continue to fight for Mr Garcia’s return.

During Mr Bukele’s trip to the White House earlier this week, he said he would not return Mr Garcia, likening it to smuggling “a terrorist into the United States”.

Along with Mr Garcia, the Trump administration has deported hundreds of people, mostly Venezuelans, who it claims are gang members without presenting evidence and without a trial.

Judge’s contempt warning

It comes hours after a US federal judge warned that he could hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt for violating his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador.

The comments are an escalation in a row which began last month when US district judge James E Boasberg issued an order temporarily blocking the deportations.

However, lawyers told him there were already two planes with immigrants in the air – one headed for El Salvador, the other for Honduras.

Mr Boasberg verbally ordered the planes to be turned around, but the directive was not included in his written order. The Trump administration then denied refusing to comply.

Charges could be brought forward by the Justice Department, NBC News, Sky’s US partner network, reported.

However, that could create an uncomfortable situation for the department, which is headed by the attorney general – a position appointed by the president.

If the executive-led Justice Department refused to prosecute the matter, Judge Boasberg said he would appoint another attorney to prosecute the contempt.

The judge wrote: “The Constitution does not tolerate wilful disobedience of judicial orders – especially by officials of a coordinate branch who have sworn an oath to uphold it.”

He gave the government a 23 April deadline.

White House director of communications Steven Cheung said the administration would seek “immediate appellate relief” – a review of a decision within a lower court before the case has been resolved.

World

Israeli troops will remain in ‘security zones’ in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely, minister says

Published

24 hours ago

April 17, 2025

admin

Israeli troops will remain in 'security zones' in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely, minister says

Israel’s troops will remain in “security zones” in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria indefinitely, according to the country’s defence minister.

Israeli forces have taken over more than half of the Gaza Strip in recent weeks in a renewed campaign to pressure the territory’s rulers Hamas to free hostages after a ceasefire ended last month.

Israel has also refused to withdraw from some areas in Lebanon following a truce with Hezbollah last year, and it seized a buffer zone in southern Syria after President Assad’s regime was overthrown last December.

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said his forces “will remain in the security zones as a buffer between the enemy and [Israeli] communities in any temporary or permanent situation in Gaza – as in Lebanon and Syria”.

He said that “unlike in the past” the military was “not evacuating areas that have been cleared and seized”.

His comments could further complicate talks with Hamas over a ceasefire and the release of hostages.

On Wednesday, health officials said Israeli strikes in Gaza killed 22 people, including a girl who was less than a year old.

Fifty-nine hostages are still inside Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after dozens of others were previously released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Israel’s continued presence in some areas in Lebanon was “hindering” the Lebanese army’s full deployment as required by the ceasefire negotiated with Israel.

The war left over 4,000 people dead, many of them civilians.

Two Israeli drone strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday killed two people, the health ministry said. The United Nations said Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 70 civilians since the ceasefire took effect in November.

Israel has said it must keep control of some areas to prevent a repeat of the Hamas attack that triggered the latest conflict in Gaza.

The war began when militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 250.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 51,000 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

The figure includes more than 1,600 people killed since a ceasefire ended and Israel resumed its offensive last month to pressure Hamas to accept changes to the agreement.

The health ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its total count but said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.