From the Liveblog of
Saturday, October 7, 2023
Residents of towns near Gaza Strip beg for help as they fight off terrorists
Israeli residents near the Gaza Strip continue to ask for help and report on shooting by terrorists inside the towns while there is little or no IDF presence on the streets.
A pregnant Kibbutz Sufa resident speaks to Channel 12 from a safe room with her two-year-old child and close family members, saying: “They are shooting at our house, they are trying to break down the door of the safe room.”
She reports that her husband and four other armed residents are fighting in the streets with no aid from the military.
“I don’t understand how this is still going on. We’re in this situation since 6 a.m.,” she says. “Four people cannot fight them off alone
“Send help, please,” she cries.
Residents in other areas near the Gaza Strip report of unprecedented fighting on all major Israeli media sources. In an Instagram story timed to 9:55 a.m. cited by Ynet, a resident of Kfar Gaza writes: “I’m begging you!!! We can’t catch anyone! There are terrorists in Kfar Gaza, send forces to Kibbutz Kfar Gaza!!!”
A Channel 12 reporter in Beersheba describes receiving dozens of requests for help from residents of the Gaza Strip.
Mirjam Reijnen, a 42-year-old volunteer firefighter in Nahal Oz, tells AP: “With rockets we somehow feel safer, knowing that we have the Iron Dome (missile defense system) and our safe rooms. But knowing that terrorists are walking around communities is a different kind of fear,” she said, adding that she and her three kids have been too scared to leave the shelter even for a moment to use the bathroom.
