Despite danger, Queens woman living in Tel Aviv vows to stay and help Jews new to the city

Howard Beach, Queens native working to help people in Israel

NEW YORK -- A makeshift center in Tel Aviv is set up for families to register the details of missing loved ones -- and provide DNA samples.

This as Hamas claims to be holding more than 100 hostages.

Howard Beach, Queens native Shanna Fuld is in Tel Aviv. She moved there five years ago and is the founder of the Israel Daily News Podcast.

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She took footage Saturday of the aftermath of a building hit by a rocket, just blocks away from her home. She said she's planning to stay in Israel because she leads a group welcoming Jews who move to Israel and are new to Tel Aviv.

"I'm not planning on getting out of here. I feel a responsibility. This is my homeland. I want to be here, report from here, fight from here," Fuld said. "I'm even more worried about the hostages. There are women in my age category."

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Officials said there are long lines forming for blood donations in Tel Aviv.

Fuld isn't the only one trying to help Israel. Maj. Gen. Nadav Padan boarded a flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Tel Aviv on Sunday to rejoin the Israel Defense Forces on the ground to fight.

The Upper East Side resident has been serving as the national director of the Friends of the IDF.

"My father was a Holocaust survivor and I carry his mission with me to defend Israel and to secure the future of our people," Padan said.

His wife and teenage son stayed behind in Manhattan. He said the partners of his two daughters in Israel have also been drafted to serve in the IDF. 

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