A Jewish-Australian leader has revealed his family was caught up in a bloody Hamas attack in Israel – two months after his cousin was killed by a terrorist.
Relatives of Melbourne’s Dr Dvir Abramovich hid in a safe room at Kibbutz Re’im, a secular settlement of 500 families located 1km from Gaza, as 2,500 rockets hit Israel on Saturday.
Among them was Adia Cohen, Dr Abramovich’s cousin, an Israeli-Australian writer and civil rights activist, who gave a harrowing account of her survival.
Inside, we heard our neighbors screaming for help and the terrorists shooting at people. Six of them (were killed, others were injured and kidnapped), she said.
Hamas gunmen then entered our home, pretending to be Israeli soldiers, and asked us to open the safe room door. Luckily, we didn’t.’
Her comments come after horrifying new footage captured the extent of the devastation left behind by the attack with their neighbour’s house completely in ruins.
Adia Cohen, cousin of Dr Dvir Abramovich, hid in a safe room in Kibbutz Re’im, a secular settlement of 500 families located 1km from Gaza, while Hamas militants bombed it and then went house to house, killing her neighbors. Pictured: Dr Abramovich and Mrs Cohen
Women walk through the ruined remains of houses in Kibbutz Re’im, a settlement of 500 families near Gaza
Ms Cohen hid in a safe house and refused to open the door when Hamas militants knocked, claiming to be Israeli soldiers. Pictured: the aftermath of the Hamas attacks on Kibbutz Re’im
Ms Cohen said Hamas “destroyed” her home after her family was left without water and food until they were rescued by Israeli soldiers.
“Above us, an RPG rocket landed on top of our roof,” she said.
“With tears in our eyes, we were escorted out of the Kibbutz.
“We will never forget the horrific scenes of carnage and death we saw as they drove us away in military vehicles.”
Just weeks ago Ms. Cohen lost her brother, Chen Amir, to a terrorist’s bullet on the streets of Tel Aviv as women and children watched in horror.
Mr Amir, a police officer who is also Dr Abramovich’s cousin, was shot dead on August 5 while on patrol in Tel Aviv by a man with links to militants following the weekend attacks.
The gunman was Kamel Abu Bakr, 22, a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group.
Islamic Jihad and Hamas are aligned and both were involved in attacks on Israel.
More than 700 Israelis died in the attacks, which included gunmen breaching security barriers and rocket attacks in the attack described as Israel’s Pearl Harbor.
Gardens around Kibbutz Re’im, in southern Israel before Hamas attacked
Just weeks ago Ms. Cohen lost her brother, Chen Amir, to a terrorist’s bullet on the streets of Tel Aviv. Pictured: Mr Amir with his wife, Vered Assayag Amir, who called him “a national hero”
A rocket is fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel by militants of the Ezz Al-Din Al Qassam militia, the military wing of the Hamas movement, in Gaza City.
Of the people killed, 260 are believed to have attended a music festival in Kibbutz Re’im.
Islamic Jihad is now said to be holding more than 130 Israelis captive in the Gaza Strip since Saturday.
“The heart of every Australian Jew is bleeding,” said Dr Abramovich, who grew up in southern Israel in Be’er Sheva and came to Australia aged 16.
His cousins are ‘traumatised’ but lucky to be alive.
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“As you can imagine, they are saddened and horrified, but they are just happy to have survived,” Dr Abramovich, who is chairman of Australia’s anti-defamation league.
“The family had to be moved to another city, accompanied by the Israeli Defense Forces. It’s not safe there.’
These barbaric agents of hatred entered Israel with one goal: to slaughter as many Jews as possible, shoot elderly people at bus stops, kidnap babies, teenagers and families, burn down homes with Holocaust survivors inside, and then celebrated, danced and mutilated. body.’
Meanwhile, another Melbourne woman, Emily Gian, remains in a bomb shelter in Tel Aviv after also surviving the weekend’s attacks.
“Missile attacks will start again at 6pm,” Ms Gian wrote on social media early Monday morning Sydney time.
“We’ve got two more minutes before it all starts again.”
Ms.
After the death of Dr Abramovich’s cousin Mr Amir, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Mr Amir “stopped a bigger terrorist attack from happening to his body and saved many lives”.
Mr. Amir had three children, Romi, 7, Mika, 5, and Emma, 2.
His widow, Vered Assayag Amir, called her husband ‘a national hero’ and pleaded ‘I want you to give me the strength to raise our daughters, you left a big crater behind’.
“I always knew he would be the first to engage an attacker,” she told Israeli media.
“In all previous terror attacks, he was always the first to run, search and help. He has a closet full of certificates of appreciation. He saved lives, he saved people’.
Melbourne woman Emily Gian and her family remain in a bomb shelter in Tel Aviv after also surviving the weekend attacks
HOW ADIA COHEN’S FAMILY SURVIVED IN KIBBUTZ RE’IM
“My husband and two children spent more than 10 hours huddled in a safe room in our home in Kibbutz Reim.
Inside, we heard our neighbors (six of them killed, others wounded and kidnapped) screaming for help and the terrorists shooting at people.
Hamas gunmen then entered our home, pretending to be Israeli soldiers, and asked us to open the safe room door.
‘Luckily, we didn’t.
“They destroyed our house. Above us, an RPG rocket landed on top of our roof.
A bombed house in Kibbutz Re’im in southern Israel. More than 2,500 rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza
“We had very little water and food and were very worried about our elderly parents, also in Kibbutz Reim, who were sending disturbing messages on WhatsApp.
“At the end of this ordeal, we were rescued by the brave soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces.
“With tears in our eyes, we were escorted out of the Kibbutz. We will never forget the terrible scenes of carnage and death we saw when they drove us away in military vehicles.’
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Hamas attack on Israel: Dr Dvir Abramovich’s family caught in barrage
