An Israeli journalist couple's video, shot inside a bomb shelter in Tel Aviv, has captured the fear and horror that has turned families' lives upside down after Hamas' deadly rocket strike.
The video shot by journalists Hananya Naftali and wife India Naftali, widely shared on social media, shows the couple describing how they woke up to rocket sirens blaring through Tel Aviv. They said they have repeatedly taken cover in the bomb shelter in the past 24 hours.
"We heard explosions above our heads. These were rockets meant to hit us, civilians," he said. Hananya said that while many of the rockets were intercepted by Iron Dome, Israel's formidable aerial defence system, some were "direct hits".
"There is an all-time, unprecedented war that we are seeing right on," he said in the video shared on X, formerly Twitter.
The Hamas rocket attack and Israel's brutal counterstrike have claimed over 700 lives so far. Israel has vowed to avenge the "black day".
"I want to ask you to keep Israel in your prayers. It's heartbreaking to see all these photos, of families looking for their beloved who are missing because Hamas also kidnapped a lot of Israeli civilians and soldiers," Hananya said.
His wife India is a news presenter for i24News, an Israeli channel. India, who immigrated to Israel from the US, said, "I think I can speak for everyone in Israel that we have never seen such a situation with hostages, graphic images. The first thing that I thought of when I saw some of these images is the Holocaust. I saw images that I wish I could erase from my brain, images of bodies of Israelis butchered, piled up on each other, things that I thought I would never see."
"It's despicable, those responsible, the Hamas terrorists, must be stopped. This is their true face. They have shown who they are to the world," she added.
Hananya said it was "insane" to see Israeli people "running to hide". "There are people who waited from 6 am to 6 pm, no food, no water," he said.
The journalist added that the Israeli resilience is strong. "They are not going to break us, not going to break our spirit."
"There is so much misinformation, so much lies presenting us as aggressors. We Israelis are not seeking war, you think we enjoy sitting here in the bomb shelter? We would much rather plan the next movie, the next dinner we have with friends. But we don't know what to expect," he said.
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