Aimee Labban and her husband Uriel receive treatment after being rescued by the Israeli Defence Forces.
Aimee Labban and her husband Uriel receive treatment after being rescued by the Israeli Defence Forces.
A British family with a 10-day-old baby hid in a safe room as Hamas terrorists burnt down their house and ransacked their village.
The family of UK-Israeli citizens spent around nine hours in hiding after being awoken to rocket fire at 6am in the community of Nirim, 2.4km from the Gaza border.
Deborah Mintz, originally from Romford and in her 60s, hid in the tiny room with her grandson Kai, and his parents, Aimee and Uriel Labban, both in their 30s.
The family’s house and cars were torched by Hamas fighters. Their pet dog was killed, the family said.
As smoke poured into the safe room, they were forced to hold baby Kai up to the ceiling to protect him from the fumes.
The family was finally freed just before 3pm local time as Israeli Defence Forces arrived and escorted them to a bomb shelter in the kibbutz, which is home to just a few hundred people.
Russell Langer, a policy researcher, said he learnt of his family’s plight when they received a text message saying: “We are stuck. They came in and burnt our house”.
Fire and smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. Photo / AP
He said his aunt and cousin were terrified to leave because they “knew what the alternative was”.
He told The Telegraph on Saturday: “They’ve been in the safe room or supposedly safe room... since six in the morning.”
He said the “terrorists” entered their home at around 9am.
“They ran straight to the safe room. They can literally hear the terrorists, [the] room has been filled with smoke so they basically lifted the baby up to the window to get fresh air,” he said.
“My aunt has posted in the group ‘the terrorists killed Mickey’. Mickey’s her dog.”
Langer said the family were later rescued by the IDF and moved to a shelter with neighbours, including one woman whose husband was killed and another who was eight and a half months pregnant.
“Baby Kai appears to be okay, but [he is] a bit covered in soot,” he said. “The house is burnt out, as are their cars.”
Other British citizens in Israel told how their families were “hiding in bushes” after Hamas terrorists torched their home on a kibbutz in an effort to smoke them out.
Emma Segev, 50, from Eastbourne, who now lives near Ashkelon, was desperately waiting for news of her sister-in-law and her four children after the kibbutz of Be’eri was infiltrated.
“They told us that Hamas were outside their door and they could hear Arabic and gunshots, but now things have gone silent,” she said.,
“Last thing we heard, their house was on fire. Eventually the heat in the room got so intense they thought they would be burned alive and fled. I don’t know how they got out but they are hiding in the bushes.
“Two elderly ladies have been kidnapped as well as teenagers who were attending a rave and were taken hostage.”
An Israeli soldier stands by the bodies of Israelis killed by Palestinian militants in the southern town of Sderot. Photo / AP
Ms Segev, an English language teacher, criticised the IDF for allowing Hamas to take hostages to Gaza.
“Where is the Israeli Defence Force? Hamas are in control, burning and killing,” she said. “Hamas has taken control.
“I have friends who have been hiding in their basement for six hours as terrorists knock on the doors of their kibbutz looking for Jews to kidnap.”
Her son Yuval, 24, added that Hamas were “wandering around with AK47s and families have nothing apart from the odd baseball bat and kitchen knives”, and his family were “hiding among the fruit trees on their kibbutz”.
“The gunmen are taking shots at them. They are just praying the Israeli soldiers will turn up but apparently the soldiers can’t get through at the moment,” he said.
Felicity Kay was woken by rocket sirens at 6am in Tel Aviv
Felicity Kay, from Watford, said that she was woken by rocket sirens at 6am in Tel Aviv, and questioned how Hamas was able to launch such a horrific attack.
“It’s a totally pre-planned unprovoked attack on civilians and kids. Where is the army? How did this happen? Where are the IDF in the south?
“Imagine if this happened in London. Remember when Lee Rigby was murdered in broad daylight, the outcry was international. This is far different and far more horrifying, there are kidnappings and massacres.”
Terry Newman, a father of four from London, said he was angry that the country had been “infiltrated” by Hamas terrorists after being woken by the sirens as his family slept in the garden for the holy festival of Sukkot.
“Hamas gave us the element of surprise. We were hit by thousands of rockets and infiltrated by killers who have kidnapped and murdered civilians, political leaders and security officials,” he said.
“Israel has to respond with maximum force to stop more murders, return the kidnapped Israelis as soon as possible and to convince our other enemies that we won’t tolerate this.”
