‘I tried to go to the living room, but it wasn’t there anymore’: A near miss in Rehovot
Deborah Fait, 84, was woken by sirens and booms; her house was heavily damaged in missile strike, but she and her neighbors were unharmed; ‘I’m lucky to be alive,’ she says
Rossella Tercatin is The Times of Israel's archaeology and religions reporter.
At around 11 p.m. on Saturday, Israelis across the country were instructed by the Home Front Command to enter bomb shelters as Iran fired a barrage of missiles at the Jewish state.
Deborah Fait, 84, left her apartment in the city of Rehovot to go to the protected space in the building’s basement.
“I went downstairs with my neighbors, and after a while, when the emergency seemed to be over, we went back to our apartments,” she told The Times of Israel over the phone.
Fait, who immigrated to Israel from Italy in 1995 and lives alone, considered sitting on the couch to wait for the next likely siren.
“I expected more alerts, but I was so tired that I decided to go to bed and rest there,” Fait said.
She then fell asleep deeply.
“All of a sudden, I was jolted awake by deafening noises and booms while sirens were also blaring,” Fait said.
It was around 3 a.m. when the next Iranian salvo hit.
“I sat on the bed, put on my slippers, and opened the door to go to the living room, but it was not there anymore,” she recounted. “The blast had ripped through the ceiling, bringing down thick wooden boards — including onto the couch where I could have been resting. I could hardly breathe because of the dust.”
Fait said that in the apartment next door the windows were shattered, but no one in the building was hurt.
“We’re all fine — if you don’t count the anxiety,” she said. “I am incredibly lucky to be alive. If I had remained on the couch, I would have died.”
The police arrived shortly afterward.
“They asked me if I needed to go to the hospital and offered that I stay at a hotel, but my son came to pick me up and helped me gather a few things to move to his apartment in Holon,” Fait said.
Not far from where Fait lives, the Weizmann Institute of Science said Sunday that some buildings on its campus had suffered damage after being hit by a missile.
Video and other footage shared with The Times of Israel, on condition that it not be published, showed extensive damage to one building on the university grounds, with a fire continuing to burn hours after the attack.
At least 42 people elsewhere in Rehovot were wounded when a missile hit a residential area, destroying at least one apartment building, according to the Magen David Adom rescue service.
Fait confirmed that many buildings in her neighborhood were damaged.
“I am also very lucky because I had already planned to move out of my apartment by the end of the month, so I’m not homeless, but everything I own is covered in dust.”
When asked how she felt about the ordeal, Fait remained undeterred.
“At my age, no one should have to go through something like this,” she said. “But my 30 years in Israel have been very happy ones.”
“Israel is my home, and I have no regrets,” she added.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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