BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

‘It’s horrific:’ Israeli civilians talk about experience since war

  • Hamas launched a surprise attack Saturday; Israel declared war
  • Hundreds have been killed on both sides, thousands injured
  • NewsNation spoke to American in Jerusalem and Israeli in West Bank

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

(NewsNation) — Rachel Shagg, an Israeli in the West Bank, says she woke up to bomb sirens Saturday.

“Since then, my whole world has been shattered,” Shagg said on “NewsNation Now,” just days after a surprise attack by Hamas from the Gaza Strip. Israel’s government then declared war, and vowed to lay siege to Gaza in response.

Hundreds have already been killed, and thousands more injured, in the violence.

Shagg says rumors keep rolling in of armed militants roaming around towns, killing people and burning down homes.

The situation is “just utter devastation,” Shagg said.

On Saturday, Shagg tried to contact one of her friends. He answered the phone, but whispered he couldn’t talk, and asked Shagg to message him.

“I kept getting sporadic, disorganized messages from him,” she recalled. “Everything was total chaos. We didn’t know what was happening.”

Shagg was later able to find out her friend was OK and safe in a hotel. Not all of her friends have been found yet, however.

Lynell Gordon, Shagg’s aunt and an American living in Jerusalem, called the situation “horrific.”

“I want everybody in the U.S. to know exactly what actually is happening to American citizens and all types of people that are living here,” Gordon said. “Everybody knows someone who’s dead, or someone who has been shot or someone who has been injured, or whole families that have been killed.”

Watch the entire interview in the video above.

Israel at War

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Cloudy

la

60°F Cloudy Feels like 60°
Wind
1 mph SE
Humidity
76%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Cloudy. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
52°F Cloudy. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
2 mph WSW
Precip
18%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Crescent