‘Buildings were shaking’: More survival stories from Israel at Miami International Airport

Witness on Tel Aviv after bombings: ‘It was eerie’

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A mother with her children from Broward County was on her way back home from Israel to Hollywood on Monday at Miami International Airport.

The bombs from Gaza reached Tel Aviv, and the pain of war tainted her family’s joyful Jewish holiday celebrations. She said her children were in Israel for the first time, so they had never hidden in bunkers before.

Friends and relatives of Ilai Bar Sade mourn during his funeral at the military cemetery in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. Bar Sade was killed after Hamas militants stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns. Israel's vaunted military and intelligence apparatus was caught completely off guard, bringing heavy battles to its streets for the first time in decades. (AP Photo/Erik Marmor) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press All rights reserved)

The family’s flight arrived at MIA just before major airlines suspended flights in and out of Israel. The U.S. State Department issued travel advisories for the region and reported at least nine U.S. citizens were killed and at least six had vanished.

The attack that started Saturday had killed over 700 people in Israel by Sunday night. And on Monday, Hamas fired more rockets that set off sirens in Tel Aviv again and there was smoke near Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.

Israeli soldiers take position near the Israeli Gaza border, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Oren Ziv) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press All rights reserved)

At MIA, an Israeli-American veteran arriving from Tel Aviv started to sing and dance with a fellow traveler and said it all felt like “a dream” since he and his wife had “never experienced these kinds of things.

The veteran said it brought him back to his days of service with the Israeli defense force, now leading the charge to rescue the dozens of hostages Hamas took.

Smoke rises after a bomb lands in Gaza on Monday. (AP Foto/Fatima Shbair) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

“I hear sirens. I didn’t know what happened, so I put clothes on. I was shy because I was invited to someone’s home. I put my clothes on very quickly, and then we were on the way to the shelter,” he said.

The Israeli-American man the veteran had been dancing with said he and his family “went into the bunker and there were, you know, bombs coming into Israel.

“The buildings were shaking.”

Israeli soldiers are seen in a staging ground near the Israeli Gaza border, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press All rights reserved)

A senior with his wife said they were all very fortunate to have made it out of Tel Aviv and back to South Florida after the attack that killed hundreds in Israel.

“We got to the airport last night and it was eerie. The roads were quiet, he said. “There were security checks on the way to the airport.”

Israeli firefighters extinguish fire at a site struck by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press All rights reserved)

Another man who said he was still shaken by the traumatic experience stood in front of reporters to say that the attackers had committed war crimes against Israel.

“Raping women in a war is a war crime; killing innocent children is a war crime,” he said. “They had no reason to do it; there is no humanity whatsoever.”

Israeli soldiers take position near the Israeli Gaza border, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. The militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations, killing hundreds and taking captives. Palestinian health officials reported scores of deaths from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. (AP Photo/Oren Ziv) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press All rights reserved)

Many told the harrowing stories of other survivors. Arik Nani from Tel Aviv told the Associated Press that he had to run and hide to survive the massacre at the music festival.

“For a country where everyone in these circles knows everyone, this is a trauma like I could never imagine,” Nani said.

Rockets are fired towards Israel from the Gaza Strip on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a televised address after a third day of heavy airstrikes in Gaza.

“We have only started striking Hamas. What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations,” Netanyahu said.

The rubble of the Yassin Mosque, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, is seen at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City early Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. Israel's military battled to drive Hamas fighters out of southern towns and seal its borders Monday as it pounded the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concerns about the safety of civilians in Israel and Gaza and condemned the Hamas attack.

Gaza’s health officials reported the Israeli response to the attack had killed over 680, including women and children and 19 members of the same family in a refugee camp, The Associated Press reported.

Related stories

The mother of Israeli Col. Roi Levy cries during her funeral's son at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. Col. Roi Levy was killed after Hamas militants stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns. Israel's vaunted military and intelligence apparatus was caught completely off guard, bringing heavy battles to its streets for the first time in decades. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo) (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

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About the Authors
Trent Kelly headshot

Trent Kelly is an award-winning multimedia journalist who joined the Local 10 News team in June 2018. Trent is no stranger to Florida. Born in Tampa, he attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he graduated with honors from the UF College of Journalism and Communications.

Andrea Torres headshot

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.

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