San Francisco resident in Israel recounts terrifying brush with violence during Hamas attack
San Francisco resident and business owner Manny Yekutiel was in Israel for his niece's bat mitzvah and his father's 80th birthday when the attacks began.
Three days into his trip, he shared video from his family's home outside Jerusalem, where sirens could be heard in the distance.
"Missiles being intercepted above me. I saw a site a few miles away that had been hit by a missile. I mean i could see the actual plume of smoke coming out of it, so this is very real, it's not isolated to a small part of Israel," he said. "My cousin texted me last night and a missile had hit a place three blocks away in Tel Aviv."
Yekutiel said seven sirens have gone off since, which sent his family running to a bomb shelter.
"Missiles and the rocket barrages are something unfortunately that seems to happen with some regularity, but the fact that there was a ground assault and people have been kidnapped and taken from their homes, and their homes have been invaded, it just adds a very chilling feeling to what's been going on and I pray for a de-escalation," Yekutiel said. "The terrorists have targeted the airport, and a lot of flights are not coming in, and so I have a flight. But it's not for another 10 days, and I don't know I'm scared. I'm nervous that I might not be able to get out."
The surprise attack that killed at least 250 people happened during a major Jewish holiday Saturday.
Israel's prime minister said the country is now at war with Hamas and vowed to inflict an "unprecedented price."
"I have a niece in the army. I have friends who live in that area," said Marco Sermoneta, the San Francisco-based Consul General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest. "The first thing that needs to be put out there is that Israel will defend itself and will respond to this outrageous barbaric attack with whatever means it has at its disposal."
Zaki Shaheen is a Palestinian-American activist who does work that supports Palestinian human rights.
"I really hope that we have a balanced approach from an international perspective moving forward to speak out against any violence that impacts any civilian anywhere in the world. And going back to the fear that is being felt. We're really concerned about the level of violence that's about to be levied against Palestinian civilians," Shaheen said. "Because historically, and I want to make this point very strongly as well, the brunt of the destruction and the death that has been caused by Israeli state-sanctioned military campaigns has not been borne by militant groups or by terrorists."
In the days ahead, Yekutiel said he is focused on the safety of his family.
"It's terrible and it's scary and it's hard to put into words what it feels like to watch a crowded synagogue have to run under tables and to see a father cover his children with his prayer shawl to keep them protected," he said. "It sounds dramatic and it was dramatic, and it was overwhelming. After it all finished, I went outside and I cried because I could feel the heat of the moment and the fear, and I could see the fear in my people's eyes."